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In the Shadow of the Moon (DVD) |
Wow – what a movie! The Apollo Astronauts Jim Lovell (Apollo 8 and 13), Dave Scott (Apollo 9 and 15), John Young (Apollo 10 and 16), Gene Cernan (Apollo 10 and 17), Mike Collins (Apollo 11), Buzz Aldrin (Apollo 11), Alan Bean (Apollo 12), Edgar Mitchell (Apollo 14), Charlie Duke (Apollo 16) and Harrison Schmitt (Apollo 17) take you through the breathtaking days of the most successful NASA program, the landing of 12 men on the moon and their safe return to Earth. Regardless whether you have lived through this period or not - this is impressive and part of our cultural heritage.
The movie starts with the “Gagarin-shock” and takes you through the significant steps of the Apollo program painted across the political and social scenario of the 1960s.
The aging Apollo Astronauts, now approaching their high 70s talk to you like old acquaintances about their experiences before, during and after their flights as well as of the impact the flight hand on the rest of their lives illustrated by new, unpublished NASA footage.
The movie is a must for everybody, because the events changed the view of our world thereafter.
I was personally moved by the film because on the very day of the landing of the Eagle I made my first business trip from Munich to the Goddard Spaceflight Center to prepare some testing with NASA for the first German research satellite “AZUR” and over the Atlantic ocean the pilot received the information that Neil Armstrong has set foot on the Moon. The crew and passengers saluted with an extra round of champagne.
The movie is more than a documentation, it definitely raises an awe for the technical achievement but also for the fragileness of the “little” earth we have the privilege to enjoy living on. It also sends a strong message for more environmental consciousness and preservation across.
At the end some of the Astronauts even express their feelings about the “conspiracy theory” of a simulated moon landing. I like Eugene Cernan’s statement: “Truth needs no defense. Nobody, nobody can ever take the footsteps on the surface on the moon away from me.”
Stepping out on your porch after having watched the DVD you will have a fresh look at the moon.
Joachim. J. Kehr Editor SpaceOps News
(June 2009)