Michael Collins — the “forgotten astronaut” aboard the first spaceflight ever to land humans on the moon — died Wednesday after a battle with cancer, his family announced. He was 90.

The real Collins, born in Rome, Italy, in 1930, as the son of a U.S. Army major general, became an astronaut in 1963, and on Gemini 10, became the fourth human ever to conduct a spacewalk.

His name is Michael Collins, and he's often considered the forgotten astronaut. The mission was ripe for three men: two would walk on the moon and one would not.

American astronaut Michael Collins, who as pilot of the Apollo 11 command module stayed behind on July 20, 1969, while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin traveled to the lunar surface to become the ...

Michael Collins, the NASA astronaut who was the command module pilot for the Apollo 11 mission to the moon, has died at age 90 after battling cancer. His family shared the news Wednesday after his ...

Astronaut Michael Collins (right) and NASA Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana (left) shake hands at Launch Complex 39A on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 launch, on July 16, 2019.

Astronaut Michael Collins, 88, returned to where it all began -- the spot where Apollo 11 launched into space 50 years ago Tuesday. He reflected on the mission that brought man to the moon and ...