'Everything was for the first time': Recalling Apollo 8

December 12, 11:02 PMSpace Exploration ExaminerMary Beth Ellis

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Worth a spot on any space fan's Netflix queue is PBS' "Race to the Moon:  The Daring Advenutre of Apollo 8."  Part of the network's "American Experience" series, "Race to the Moon" rightly celebrates the first flight which put men within reaching distance of the Moon.

Since overshadowed by the men who actually put footsteps there on Apollo 11, Apollo 8 now functions in popular memory as a sort of Christmastime "remember when," merely a link in the chain.  That view hardly does justice to the daring firsts acheived by the engineers, astronauts, launch crew, flight controllers, and support staff during the mission.

Failure was assumed by some; Walter Cronkite, in narrating the launch, announced that man was "perhaps on his way to the Moon."  The program turns to some well-done CGI to help tell the story, and places the mission into the cultural context of the '60's.  Cosmonaut Alexi Leonov also provides an invaluable Soviet perspective.

With interviews from the men and women closely involved with the project, as well as astronauts, family members, and space historian Andrew Chaikin, "Race to the Moon" presents a comprehensive look at mankind's first eye-to-eye view of our closest celestial neighbor.