Chasing the Moon

Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing, filmmaker Robert Stone’s three-part PBS-aired American Experience documentary series recreates the epic rivalry and race to engineer a manned mission to the Moon and return the astronauts safely to Earth. The space race began in earnest with the 1957 launch of a beachball-sized satellite named Sputnik, which was met with near hysteria in America, setting off a desperate game of catch up. The documentary looks at the "duck and cover" national security Cold War mentality, the numerous failed unmanned missile firings, the recruitment of ex-Nazi flight scientist Wernher von Braun, and the hasty assembly of test pilots for the Project Mercury program. From the beginning, NASA was media conscious, and the series covers the role of TV and Life magazine in promoting the clean-cut, all-American image of the seven Mercury astronauts. The space program played out against a period of growing social unrest, with concerns about the Vietnam War, civil rights, and the ballooning expense of the Moon missions. In 1962, President Kennedy set a goal of landing a man on the Moon before the decade's end, and the atmosphere around Cape Canaveral embraced a heady, go-for-it vibe. Surviving astronauts talk about the rigorous training, the emotional costs on their families, and the daunting knowledge that success wasn't guaranteed. Markers along the way included the first spacewalk in 1965, and the tragic 1967 launch pad fire that killed three astronauts. Astronaut Frank Borman vividly recalls the 1968 Christmas eve orbit around the Moon, while the July 1969 Moon landing—covered in detail here—still conveys the touch-and-go suspense, feelings of awe, and rare and precious moment of world unity, as people all around the Earth followed the first lunar walks. With commentary from the son of Soviet premier Khruschev, Borman, other astronauts, and NASA officials, Chasing the Moon serves up a comprehensive, thrilling, and often poignant look at a high point in both American and world history. Extras include an interview with director Stone, and a behind-the-scenes featurette with the film crew. Highly recommended. Editor’s Choice. Aud: H, C, P. (S. Rees)