As 600 million people watched the first astronauts land on the moon on July 20, 1969, the four unlikely teams contracted by NASA to play crucial roles in the historical moment were unbeknownst to many. Now, as the world gets ready to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, Discovery celebrates their remarkable achievements with the new two-hour original Canadian documentary event MAKE IT TO THE MOON, premiering Sunday, July 14 at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT exclusively on Discovery and Discovery Science.
Narrated by Golden Globe®-nominated Canadian actor Stephan James (HOMECOMING, If Beale Street Could Talk), MAKE IT TO THE MOON travels back to the 1960s, when then President John F. Kennedy challenged his nation to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade.
“We’re thrilled to celebrate one of mankind’s most remarkable achievements,” said Edwina Follows, General Manager, Discovery Networks Canada. “From science to technology to revolutionary space suits, it took unprecedented perseverance, dedication, and ingenuity to get man to the moon. We’re so excited for audiences to learn more about these rarely heard stories, and also about Canada’s connections to the moon landing.”
Virtually every piece of technology for the moon mission was built from scratch, with four organizations embracing the challenge: the Grumman Aircraft Corporation designed and built the first-ever lunar lander; the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) created groundbreaking navigational software and shrunk a computer the size of a semi-trailer to one-cubic foot so it could fit onboard the lunar module; the International Latex Company, best known for its Playtex bras and girdles, stitched a new kind of space suit by hand; and Australia’s Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station provided communications with Apollo 11 on its 386,000 kilometre voyage to the moon.
Combining archival footage and in-depth interviews with experts and individuals from the four teams reliving the highlight of their career, MAKE IT TO THE MOON provides a first-hand view of the monumental challenges each team overcame to realize humankind’s greatest achievement.
MAKE IT TO THE MOON also premieres on CTV on Saturday, July 20 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, and will also be made available to Crave subscribers the same day. Discovery marks the milestone anniversary as well, with a programming marathon beginning at 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT. Programming highlights include APOLLO 11: THE FORGOTTEN FILMS, CONFESSIONS FROM SPACE: APOLLO, and 13 FACTORS THAT SAVED APOLLO. Check local listings for complete programming details.
Subscribers can access live streaming of MAKE IT TO THE MOON through the Discovery app.
In anticipation of the premiere of MAKE IT TO THE MOON, the award-winning Canadian podcast Our Fake History is also set to release three special episodes (July 2, 16, 30) discussing the moon landing. Produced in association with Entertainment One (eOne), and hosted by teacher and historian Sebastian Major, the episodes explore the many conspiracy theories surrounding the moon landing. Using in-depth research and interviews with people involved at the time, each episode debunks these conspiracy theories and highlights the lived experiences of the more than 400,000 men and women behind NASA’s moon landing efforts.
