unilad homepage
unilad homepage
    • News
      • UK News
      • US News
      • World News
      • Crime
      • Health
      • Money
      • Sport
      • Travel
    • Music
    • Technology
    • Film and TV
      • News
      • DC Comics
      • Disney
      • Marvel
      • Netflix
    • Celebrity
    • Politics
    • Advertise
    • Terms
    • Privacy & Cookies
    • LADbible Group
    • LADbible
    • SPORTbible
    • GAMINGbible
    • Tyla
    • UNILAD Tech
    • FOODbible
    • License Our Content
    • About Us & Contact
    • Jobs
    • Latest
    • Archive
    • Topics A-Z
    • Authors
    Facebook
    Instagram
    X
    Threads
    TikTok
    YouTube
    Submit Your Content
    Eerie Apollo 11 photo of Earth taken by ‘most isolated astronaut in the universe’ has people freaking out

    Home> Technology> Space

    Published 18:56 9 May 2025 GMT+1

    Eerie Apollo 11 photo of Earth taken by ‘most isolated astronaut in the universe’ has people freaking out

    The astronaut was dubbed the 'most isolated man in the universe'

    Ellie Kemp

    Ellie Kemp

    google discoverFollow us on Google Discover
    Featured Image Credit: Space Frontiers/Getty Images

    Topics: Space, NASA, History, US News

    Ellie Kemp
    Ellie Kemp

    Ellie joined UNILAD in 2024, specialising in SEO and trending content. She moved from Reach PLC where she worked as a senior journalist at the UK’s largest regional news title, the Manchester Evening News. She also covered TV and entertainment for national brands including the Mirror, Star and Express. In her spare time, Ellie enjoys watching true crime documentaries and curating the perfect Spotify playlist.

    X

    @EllieKempOnline

    Advert

    Advert

    Advert

    Over the years, a number of fascinating photos from deep space have emerged, truly putting our lives into perspective.

    From a creepy snap of an asteroid from space, to the sheer distance between the Earth and Moon being laid bare, sometimes it's hard to wrap our heads around just how huge our universe really is.

    Yet there's another iconic photo taken by a NASA astronaut which is doing the rounds - perhaps because it's spinning people's heads a bit.

    On July 20, 1969, the world watched on as the US made space history with its ambitious Apollo 11 mission.

    Advert

    Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to ever walk on the Moon, proudly planting the American flag and taking their own series of incredible photos.

    The mission had launched from Florida's Kennedy Space Center on July 16, and it took just over three days - about 76 hours - for the crew to travel the nearly 240,000 miles to the Moon.

    While Armstrong and Aldrin are the main men you might associate with Apollo 11, there was actually a third astronaut who was vital in making it all happen.

    That was Michael Collins, who become 'the most isolated man in the universe' as he waited, utterly alone by the command module, for his teammates to set foot on the Moon.

    While up there, Collins captured an eerie photo which shows just how tiny (and lonely) our home planet looks.

    You can see the cold, barren Moon in the foreground, the fragile spacecraft alone in the void, and then Earth - so small and distant - suspended in the blackness of space.

    Collins' photo is truly breath-taking (NASA)
    Collins' photo is truly breath-taking (NASA)

    Discussing the spectacular photo on Reddit, one person wrote: "We don't give Mike enough credit," as a second added: "He has the coolest accomplishment in human history. He is the person that has been further away from any other human than anyone ever."

    A third weighed in: "That's a very hard-hitting image. My goodness," as a fourth wrote: "Incredible... such an impressive photo."

    Another mused: "The idea that he's the only person in the entire world not in that photograph has blown my mind for years."

    In a candid admission, Collins said he was 'sweating like a nervous bride' waiting for his buddies to return.

    He wrote: “My secret terror for the last six months has been leaving them on the Moon and returning to Earth alone; now I am within minutes of finding out the truth of the matter.

    NASA astronaut Mike Collins in the 1960s (Space Frontiers/Getty Images)
    NASA astronaut Mike Collins in the 1960s (Space Frontiers/Getty Images)

    "If they fail to rise from the surface, or crash back into it, I am not going to commit suicide; I am coming home, forthwith, but I will be a marked man for life and I know it.”

    Later, he went on to write a book about becoming the person furthest away from Earth, titled Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut's Journey.

    In there, he revealed his thoughts, writing: “I am alone now, truly alone, and absolutely isolated from any known life. I am it.

    "If a count were taken, the score would be three billion plus two over on the other side of the Moon, and one plus God knows what on this side.”

    Choose your content:

    4 days ago
    7 days ago
    9 days ago
    10 days ago
    • Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
      4 days ago

      OpenAI names 22 industries at risk of job losses as it proposes four day week

      Two new reports suggest AI might be coming for your job - but you could also get a three day weekend

      Technology
    • Kayla Bartkowski/Bloomberg via Getty Images
      7 days ago

      Congressman Tim Burchett claims he has seen UFO footage that ‘defies logic’

      Tim Burchett says he has seen UFO footage that couldn't be man made - and he wants answers from the government

      Technology
    • NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
      9 days ago

      NASA's Curiosity rover makes groundbreaking discovery that suggests Mars can support life

      An expert has claimed the new reveal 'increases the prospect that Mars offered a home for life in the ancient past'

      Technology
    • John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images
      10 days ago

      Bill Nye issues stern warning to Trump over concerns he could 'end NASA'

      Bill Nye the Science Guy revealed that Donald Trump's NASA proposal is a 'huge mistake'

      Technology
    • True story behind eerie NASA photo that’s still freaking people out 40 years later
    • Artemis II astronaut shares important reminder as they prepare to return to Earth
    • Incredible moment Crew-11 splashes down to Earth after ISS mission cut short by medical issue
    • Astronaut Suni Williams explains what she realized when looking down at the Earth after 608 days in space