Michael Collins Didn’t tell Neil Armstrong to Cut his Mic
A meme going around the Internet describes an exchange between Apollo 11 astronauts discussing what Neil Armstrong would say when he set foot on the moon. Michael Collins, who would man the Command Module says, “If you had any balls, you’d say ‘Oh my God, what is that thing?’ then scream and cut your mic.” While it would have been a great joke and induce panic at NASA, Collins didn’t actually say this.
While Collins liked to joke around, as seen in Apollo 11 flight transcripts, the quote isn’t his. It originated in an HBO miniseries, From Earth to the Moon (1998), episode 6, “Mare Tranquilitatis.” A deep dive into Collins’ memoire, several books, including books by authors who interviewed the Apollo 11 astronauts confirms this. Graham Yost, who wrote the episode said, “I made it up out of whole cloth. I hope it made Collins laugh.”
