The loneliest man in history - 6 Minute English

Hello and welcome to 6 Minute

English from BBC Learning

English. I'm Neil.

And I'm Georgina.

In this programme, we're

going to be talking about

the astronaut who piloted the

command module to take Neil

Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin

to walk on the Moon.

Michael Collins, who sadly passed

away in 2021 at the age of 90, has

been described as 'the loneliest

man in history'.

Yes, while Armstrong

delivered his famous quote

when taking the first steps on the lunar

surface, and Buzz followed soon

after, Collins was left behind

to circle the Moon, tasked with

the huge responsibility of getting

the three pioneers - the first

people to do something -

back to Earth. That's right.

And many people over the

years have wondered whether

he was disappointed not to

have walked on the Moon.

How would you feel if you

went all that way and didn't

stand on the Moon, Georgina?

Me personally - I'd probably be

pretty devastated - but I think it

depends on personality. To be

honest, I'd probably be too

scared to go to the

Moon anyway.

Yes - and just think about

being in a space module

together - trapped for all those

hours - it could create quite

the sense of camaraderie - a

friendship and trust formed

by spending time together.

Or you could drive each

other crazy asking questions!

Which is what I'm going to do

now, Georgina. I know how

much you love animals - and

the first animal that went

into space was a Russian

dog in 1957, but what

was that dog's name? a) Irina, b) Laika or

c) Anastasia?

Well, I think I know this

one - b) Laika - and I believe,

sadly, she didn't survive.

OK, Georgina, we'll find out if

that's right at the end of the

programme. But let's talk

more about Michael Collins

and that famous trip to the

Moon that captured people's

attention around the world.

Yes - I think one thing that

has always interested me is

the feeling of friendship, or

as you said camaraderie, that

must have developed between

those three explorers.

But, perhaps surprisingly, in

an interview with the BBC

programme Hard Talk, Collins

said the close connection

between the astronauts

didn't develop until later.

We formed some very strong

bonds, but actually, not really

during the flight of Apollo 11

or even during the preparatory

flight of the flight. It was a

round-the-world trip that

we took after the flight.

When I came to know Neil

better. During our training,

in the first place we had not

been a backup as most

primary crews had been,

so we just got to know

each other in the 6 months

before the flight, which

is a short period of time.

So, it wasn't really until

afterwards that they

formed those strong bonds -

the connections between

them, until on a trip round

the world to talk about

their experiences.

Six months sounds like

a long time, but I suppose

when preparing to become

famous and go down in

history, as they did - it

doesn't leave much time

for personal interactions.

One of the sad things to

take away is that everyone

remembers Armstrong and

Aldrin, but sometimes

Collins is seen as

the forgotten man.

Yes - and he did say in

the interview that he would

have loved to walk on the

Moon, but he was very

proud to be a part of

the team - as he was

one of the trailblazers -

a similar word to pioneer.

They most certainly were

trailblazers. But imagine how

he must have felt - circling

around Moon, all alone!

Yes, a lot of people

questioned Collins afterwards

regarding the solitude, about

which he had this to say in

the same interview with

BBC programme Hard Talk:

Well, I... when I returned

to Earth, I was amazed

because most of the

questions to me from the

press centred on: You were the

loneliest man in the whole

lonely orbit around the lonely

planet on a lonely evening.

And I felt, on the other hand,

quite comfortable in my happy

little home inside the command

module Columbia. I had been

flying aeroplanes by myself

for a number of years. So, the

fact I was aloft by myself

was not anything new.

So, it sounds like he

appreciated the peace and

quiet and he felt used to it

having been alone on flights.

Yes - while people talk about

the two who walked on the

Moon, he must have

experienced an incredible

sense of peace while on the

dark side of the Moon - the

first person ever to go there.

But now, Georgina, let's get the

answer to my question: What

was the name of the first

animal, a dog, to

go into space?

I said Laika.

Which is correct, well done!

And you were right when you

said that she sadly didn't

survive the return to Earth.

Well, speaking of dogs,

I need to feed mine soon -

so let's just recap

some of the vocabulary

we've discussed.

Yes, we had camaraderie -

a sense of trust and

friendship after spending a

long time together, and the

creation of strong bonds

or connections.

And if you're the first person

to do something, you could

be called a pioneer.

Or even a trailblazer which

means the same thing.

And if you are the first

person to do something, you

could become famous

and go down in history.

And finally we spoke about

the solitude, or state of being

alone, that Collins

must have experienced.

Well, we're out of time for

today. We have plenty more

6 Minute English

programmes to enjoy on

our website at

bbclearningenglish.com.

If you are busy, we offer

English in a Minute: short

videos with tips on how to

improve your English.

And check us out on

Facebook, Twitter

and Instagram.

Don't forget we have an

app too, which you can

download for free from the

app stores. We help you

learn English on the move!

Grammar, vocabulary, and

interesting topics - we have

them all! Visit our website!

Get the app!

Bye for now.

Goodbye.