Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Available On Air Stations
Watch Live

Arts & Culture

The Space Age: NASA's Story: To The Moon

Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, Apollo ll mission commander, at the modular equipment storage assembly (MESA) of the Lunar Module "Eagle" on the historic first extravehicular activity (EVA) on the lunar surface. Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. took the photograph with a Hasselblad 70mm camera. Most photos from the Apollo 11 mission show Buzz Aldrin. This is one of only a few that show Neil Armstrong.
Edwin E. Aldrin Jr./ NASA
Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, Apollo ll mission commander, at the modular equipment storage assembly (MESA) of the Lunar Module "Eagle" on the historic first extravehicular activity (EVA) on the lunar surface. Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. took the photograph with a Hasselblad 70mm camera. Most photos from the Apollo 11 mission show Buzz Aldrin. This is one of only a few that show Neil Armstrong.

Airs Tuesday, July 19, 2011 at 11 p.m. on KPBS TV

"The Space Age: NASA's Story" offers a fresh look at an amazing organization and mankind's quest to understand the universe. Blending stunningly restored footage with revealing, insightful and engaging interviews with the people who were there - the astronauts, family members and journalists - this is an epic story of the heroes, the triumphs and the tragedies of space exploration.

Starting with NASA's beginnings in the Cold War, this four-part series follows the iconic moments of space exploration from the race to get the first man in space to the first steps on the moon. And with triumph and achievement comes risk and disaster, as the series follows the white-knuckle suspense of Apollo 13 and the tragedy of the shuttle Challenger. Intelligent, inspiring and accessible, "The Space Age" is a complete history of mankind's journey into space.

"To The Moon" - In this episode, landing a human being on another celestial body was the first step to living beyond our planet. The breathless pace and daring of the Apollo program sees NASA’s team master previously unimagined tasks and machines toward the most incredible climax in the history of human endeavour. When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walk on the moon and return safely to Earth, the whole planet throws them a party.