Michael Collins, the 'forgotten astronaut' of Apollo 11 dies, age 90

Sometimes referred to as the "forgotten" member of the historic Apollo 11 mission — Michael Collins never got to walk on the moon, but has been hailed as a "true pioneer."

US astronaut Michael Collins, who piloted the ship on the historic Apollo 11 mission that saw the first humans walk on the moon, died on Wednesday. He was 90 years old.

Collins' family said he died following a battle with cancer.

Remembering the ' forgotten' astronaut

During the Apollo 11 mission in July 1969, while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin traveled to the surface of the moon and took a "giant leap for mankind," Collins stayed behind.

For over 21 hours, Collins piloted the command module — circling the moon and losing contact with US space agency NASA every time the vessel passed into the dark side of the moon.

"I know that I would be a liar or a fool if I said that I have the best of the three Apollo 11 seats, but I can say with truth and equanimity that I am perfectly satisfied with the one I have," Collins wrote in his 1974 autobiography Carrying the Fire.

Mourning a pioneer

NASA marked Collins' passing, calling him a "true pioneer."

"NASA mourns the loss of this accomplished pilot and astronaut, a friend of all who seek to push the envelope of human potential. [...] His spirit will go with us as we venture toward farther horizons," the acting head of NASA, Steve Jurczyk, said in a statement.

Buzz Aldrin, now the last surviving member of the Apollo mission, wrote a tribute to his crewmate on Twitter.

"Dear Mike, Wherever you have been or will be, you will always have the Fire to Carry us deftly to new heights and to the future."

From test pilot to astronaut

Collins was born in Rome, Italy, on October 31, 1930. He started out as an Air Force test pilot, before being chosen for NASA's astronaut program in 1964.

The Apollo 11 mission was his second, and final, space flight.

Unlike his crewmates, he avoided the public eye and later went on to become the head of the National Air and Space Museum.

Collins later said the most poignant memory from the mission was looking back at planet Earth, which he described as appearing "fragile."

"I really believe that if the political leaders of the world could see their planet from a distance of 100,000 miles, their outlook could be fundamentally changed," he said. "That allimportant border would be invisible, that noisy argument silenced."

rs/sms (AP, Reuters)

ly through the body, if it escapes any antibodies in the immune system or those developed as a result of a vaccine — or, indeed, if there aren't any antibodies.

Experts say there is a risk that people who have recovered from a COVID-19 infection, or those who have been vaccinated, may not be as resilient against this new variant as they may be against other forms of the virus.

What's special about the Indian variant?

The mutations found in the Indian variant are identified as E484Q and E484K.

They are not entirely new. They have also been identified

in other mutations, such asthe South African variant, B.1.353, and in the Brazilian variant, P1.

In some cases, the Indian mutations were detected in the British variant, B.1.1.7.

There are other mutations, such as one called L452R, which is detected in a Californian variant of the virus, B.1.429. The same was found in a variant in Germany.

Of interest or of concern?

The WHO categorizes the Indian variant as a "variant of interest." That means it is being monitored, but that it is, for the time being, not of major concern.

Dr Jeffrey Barrett, director of the COVID-19 Genomics Initiative at the Wellcome Sanger Institute in the UK, has commented that the Indian variant has spread at such low levels over the past few months, and that makes it "likely not to be as transmissible as B.1.1.7."

But a number of other experts see the threat differently. And current developments appear to suggest they may be right.

In the Indian state of Maharashtra, more than 60% of all

coronavirus infections have been linked to the new B.1.617 variant, based on the infections that have been sequenced for their origin.

But local authorities say the number of cases being sequenced is far too low for them to draw any clear conclusions.

As such, it remains unclear whether the Indian variant is responsible for the increase in infections in India.

US astronaut Michael Collins piloted the spacecraft on the Apollo 11 mission that first saw humans walk on the moon

India has seen a spike in deaths from COVID-19 as infection numbers soar

India's health care system has been overwhelmed as COVID-19 infections soar