Apollo 11 crew profiles

.............

NEIL ARMSTRONG

ROLE: Mission commander.

BORN: August 5, 1930, in a farmhouse outside Wapakoneta, Ohio.

EARLY CAREER: An aircraft-mad youngster who could fly before he could drive, Armstrong gained a reputation as a "hot" navy pilot, flying 78 combat missions during the Korean War, once being brought down and having to be rescued. He went on to become a civilian test pilot at Edwards Air Force Base in California, in the front line of research at the frontiers of flight technology. Among 200 types, he flew the X-15 rocket plane. Married Janet Shearon in January 1956.

INTO SPACE: Joined NASA's astronaut team in autumn 1962. Assigned as command pilot for the Gemini 8 mission in 1966 and narrowly escaped with his life when a stuck thruster sent the spacecraft tumbling wildly. Had another close shave when he ejected from an out-of-control lunar lander training vehicle in May 1968. Intense, enigmatic, and reserved, he nevertheless had a dry sense of humour.

AFTER THE MOON: Never flew in space again. Had various academic, managerial, and business roles. He was modest about his extraordinary achievements. A private man, he was happy to keep a low public profile in later life, leading to a myth that he was a recluse.

DIED: August 25, 2012, aged 82, at Cincinnati, and buried at sea.

...........................

EDWIN "BUZZ" ALDRIN

ROLE: Lunar module pilot.

BORN: January 20, 1930, at Montclair, New Jersey.

EARLY CAREER: The son of a distinguished aviator, he followed in his namesake father's footsteps and served as a pilot in Korea, with 66 fighter missions and shooting down two Migs, winning the Distinguished Flying Cross. Continued in military. Married Joan Archer in 1954. "Buzz" was a childhood nickname which he legally adopted in 1979.

INTO SPACE: In 1963 became the first man to join the astronauts with a doctorate. Flew in Gemini 12, the last flight in the Gemini series, in November 1966, during which he set a record for the longest space walk, and also took the first "selfie" in space. A brilliant brain who had key input during the space program, his first wife Joan said: "If Buzz were a trash man and collected trash, he would be the best trash collector in the United States."

AFTER THE MOON: Never flew in space again. Retired from the air force in 1972, wrote several books, and worked on advancing space technology. Famously battled depression and the bottle in the 1970s and ended up a car salesman. Took part in "Dancing With The Stars" (America's version of Strictly Come Dancing) in 2010. Aldrin is now aged 89.

....................

MICHAEL COLLINS

ROLE: Command module pilot.

BORN: October 31, 1930, Rome, Italy.

EARLY CAREER: The son of a Major General, he became a fighter pilot, before serving as a test pilot at Edwards Air Force Base. From 1959 to1963 he logged more than 4,200 hours of flying time. Married Patricia Finnegan in 1957 (alone among the Apollo 11 crew, Collins did not later divorce and remarry).

INTO SPACE: In October 1963, became one of the third group of astronauts named by NASA. He flew on the three-day Gemini 10 mission, launched July 18, 1966, during which he set a world altitude record and became the nation’s third spacewalker, but lost a 470 dollar Hasselblad camera full of pictures while doing so. A bone spur and loose disc in his neck threatened his space career, but were fixed with an operation. Easygoing, and popular both with astronaut colleagues and the media. Unlike Armstrong and Aldrin, Collins did not walk on the moon.

AFTER THE MOON: Never flew in space again. Left NASA in January 1970 and took on roles with the Smithsonian Institution and an aerospace company, and wrote several books. Is now aged 88.