GBH Openvault

NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Robin M. Canup, Astrophysicist

Part of To the Moon Interviews.

1998

Robin M. Canup, Astrophysicist known for her research on giant impact hypothesis, is interviewed about her work and the theory. Canup explains the process of the moon's creation from debris after a major impact, and talks about the timeline, temperatures, and materials involved in the process. According to Canup, planetary formations are common, and the knowledge that is available in 1998 from using computer models of scenarios would not have been possible in previous years because of the advances in technology. Canup talks about the other early theories of lunar formation, and how the lunar samples from the Apollo program discounted all three early theories, leading to the rise of the giant impact theory as the dominant theory of lunar formation. An understanding of our moon is important to building a fundamental understanding of the creation of other planets in our solar system and in other systems, and Canup says that she hopes that the next generation of lunar scientists will be going to the moon in order to continue learning about the history of the moon and Earth. Canup talks about her childhood hopes of being an astronaut on Mars, and the ability of the Apollo astronauts to do lunar science after considerable training, and says that the rocks that were gathered during the Apollo program are still providing scientific information on the moon. The interview ends with 1 minute of audio-only on Canup's introduction to the field, and the rate of planetary impacts in the solar system.

Series

NOVA

Program

To the Moon

Program Number

2610

Title

Interview with Robin M. Canup, Astrophysicist

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

0:24:44

Asset Type

Raw video

Media Type

Video

Subjects

Space

Gemini

Astronaut

Moon

American history

Apollo

Creators

WGBH Educational Foundation (Producing Organization)

Contributors

Canup, Robin M., 1968- (Interviewee)

Rights Summary

Rights Holder: WGBH Educational Foundation

Citation

Chicago: “NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Robin M. Canup, Astrophysicist,” 1998, GBH Archives, accessed December 26, 2024, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_5E5718CDC803406BB835C5BF7AE06ED1.

MLA: “NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Robin M. Canup, Astrophysicist.” 1998. GBH Archives. Web. December 26, 2024. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_5E5718CDC803406BB835C5BF7AE06ED1>.

APA: NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Robin M. Canup, Astrophysicist. Boston, MA: GBH Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_5E5718CDC803406BB835C5BF7AE06ED1