GBH Openvault
NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Michael B. Duke, aerospace scientist and Principal Investigator for the Apollo Lunar Sample program, part 1 of 2
Part of To the Moon Interviews.
1998
Michael B. Duke, aerospace scientist and Principal Investigator for the Apollo Lunar Sample program is interviewed about the lunar samples that came back from the Apollo program. The interview begins with B-Roll of the moon rocks and their case. Duke explains his role as curator of the lab and the need to preserve and conserve the lunar rocks, and talks about the cooperative work between the US and Russia to share the samples. After the crew and samples returned to Earth, they were quarantined out of a fear of contaminating the Earth with unknown substances, and Duke explains the huge rush that took place anytime samples came back from the moon. The astronauts and engineers sometimes "locked horns" but got along well enough, and Duke describes the need to return to the moon in order to keep learning, and talks about the inclusion of science and geology into the Apollo program, and the role that Jack Schmitt played on that front. Duke finishes by talking about the role that Gene Shoemaker played on the program, and the engineers' fears of disaster in space. The final five minutes of the file are audio-only.
- Series
- NOVA
- Program
- To the Moon
- Program Number
2610
- Title
Interview with Michael B. Duke, aerospace scientist and Principal Investigator for the Apollo Lunar Sample program, part 1 of 2
- Series Description
NOVA is a general-interest documentary series that addresses a single science issue each week. Billed as "science adventures for curious grown-ups" when it first aired in March, 1974, NOVA continues to offer an informative and entertaining approach to a challenging subject. It is also one of television's most acclaimed series, having won every major television award, most of them many times over.
- Program Description
Alan Binder, former Principal Investigator of NASA's Lunar Prospector mission, is interviewed about the Lunar Prospector. Binder says that if moon travel became viable again, he would want to go to the moon, but says that in order to get financial and public support for space exploration, scientists need to sell the science of the moon. Another option, according to Binder, is to make travel to the moon commercially viable, and lists many benefits of going to the moon, including using it as a fuel source, or colonizing the surface for human habitation (audio cuts out from 00:07:30 - 00:09:00). Binder explains the work of the Lunar Prospector and talks about the necessity of having computers to do a lot of the work. On Apollo, Binder calls the program the most significant event of the 21st century, and talks about the roles of the Apollo program, the Clementine spacecraft, and hte Lunar Prospector. The interview ends with Binder's views on his relationship with NASA, which he characterizes as being needlessly bound up in beaurocracy and red tape.
- Duration
0:27:17
- Asset Type
Raw video
- Media Type
Video
- Subjects
- American history
- Apollo
- Astronaut
- Moon
- Gemini
- Space
- Creators
- WGBH Educational Foundation (Producing Organization)
- Contributors
- Duke, Michael B., 1935- (Interviewee)
- Rights Summary
Rights Holder: WGBH Educational Foundation
- Citation
- Chicago: “NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Michael B. Duke, aerospace scientist and Principal Investigator for the Apollo Lunar Sample program, part 1 of 2,” 1998, GBH Archives, accessed April 24, 2024, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_20C5BE6406274E1B9B253E49E9B9049B.
- MLA: “NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Michael B. Duke, aerospace scientist and Principal Investigator for the Apollo Lunar Sample program, part 1 of 2.” 1998. GBH Archives. Web. April 24, 2024. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_20C5BE6406274E1B9B253E49E9B9049B>.
- APA: NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Michael B. Duke, aerospace scientist and Principal Investigator for the Apollo Lunar Sample program, part 1 of 2. Boston, MA: GBH Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_20C5BE6406274E1B9B253E49E9B9049B