Michael Collins (1930­) participated in the Gemini X and Apollo XI space 
missions and walked in space. He was appointed as Secretary of State 
for Public Affairs in Washington from 1970­71 and was director of the 
National Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian Institution from 1971 
to 1978. He is the author of a number of books, including Carrying the  
Fire  (1974) and Mission to Mars  (1990).