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Cape Town - On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong climbed down a small ladder
to place a foot onto the moon’s surface and proclaimed, "That’s one small step
for man, one giant leap for mankind."
On that fateful day, with more than half a billion people worldwide watching on television, Apollo 11 became the first spaceflight to land man on the moon. Led by astronauts Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin, the mission effectively ended the Space Race and fulfilled an American goal set by President John F. Kennedy. This historic feat changed the world forever.
To commemorate the 50th anniversary, National Geographic (DStv 181) kicks off its Space Month programming event with the epic two-hour feature documentary Apollo: Missions to the Moon on Monday, 1 July at 21:00.
The film is executive produced and directed by acclaimed Emmy and Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Tom Jennings. Tom also worked on projects like Challenger Disaster: Lost Tapes, Diana: In Her Own Words.
The film weaves together more than 500 hours of footage, 800 hours of audio and 10,000 photos, using Jennings’ signature style of first-person storytelling to take viewers behind the scenes.
This intimate, immersive account spans the full sweep of NASA’s Apollo Space Program — from the ill-fated Apollo 1 mission, which claimed the lives of three astronauts, to the final flight that brought the program to a close.
"Beyond audio and footage of the brave astronauts, Apollo: Missions to the Moon creates a tapestry of the collective sights and sounds that brings us back to the golden age of space," says Jennings.
The film features newly transferred film and never-before-heard audio to recount the ground-breaking, key moments of America’s goal to land on the moon before 1970. With no narration nor modern-day talking heads, the missions are experienced entirely through archival TV footage, never-before-heard radio broadcasts, home movies, NASA film and mission-control audio to create an eyewitness-like experience. The film includes several firsts, including the combination of NASA footage with “black-box” recordings from Apollo capsules and the synchronization of 30-track audio from mission control.
"Apollo: Missions to the Moon unveils what was happening not only on the ground at mission control but also in the homes of the families and friends who stood by as their loved ones took to the skies," says Jennings. "The whole world stopped for a moment to rejoice and take pride in the boundless sense of courage and optimism that Apollo made possible."
"Apollo: Misisons to the Moon is not just a show; it’s an experience," says Geoff Daniels, executive vice president of global unscripted entertainment at National Geographic.
"It’s filled with intimate, exquisite moments that put you on the edge of your seat and reveal the human face of heroism at a time when our country — and the world — was deeply divided. Apollo renewed our purpose and passion for space exploration, which is deeply woven into our human DNA and at the core of National Geographic. Now, 50 years later, this film could not be more relevant; it reminds us what we can achieve together and has the power to transform us all."
WATCH THE TRAILER HERE:
(Photos: NASA/National Archives and Records Administration)
