NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Leon "Lee" Silver, Ph.D., Professor of Geology at the California Institute of Technology, part 1 of 4

1998

Leon "Lee" Silver, Ph.D., Professor of Geology at the California Institute of Technology, is interviewed about geology and science on Apollo. Silver explains how Jim Lovell came to be in charge of the back room, and explained the discovery of anorthosite on the moon, and makes the argument that the astronauts had been trained to discover things like it. On the discovery of green rock (made of geologic glass) and orange soil, Silver explains his initial theories on their creation, but the interview is cut off.

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Series: NOVA
Program: To the Moon
Program Number: 2610
Title: Interview with Leon "Lee" Silver, Ph.D., Professor of Geology at the California Institute of Technology, part 1 of 4
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: 0:06:51
Asset Type: Raw video
Media Type: Video
Subjects: Apollo; Moon; Astronaut; American history; Space; Gemini
Creators: WGBH Educational Foundation (Producing Organization)
Contributors: Silver, Leon "Lee" Theodore, 1925- (Interviewee)
Rights Summary: Rights Holder: WGBH Educational Foundation
Citation: Chicago: “NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Leon "Lee" Silver, Ph.D., Professor of Geology at the California Institute of Technology, part 1 of 4,” 1998, GBH Archives, accessed November 23, 2024, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_DC4ED0D6CC404567AD37CE7D6A2389ED.; MLA: “NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Leon "Lee" Silver, Ph.D., Professor of Geology at the California Institute of Technology, part 1 of 4.” 1998. GBH Archives. Web. November 23, 2024. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_DC4ED0D6CC404567AD37CE7D6A2389ED>.; APA: NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Leon "Lee" Silver, Ph.D., Professor of Geology at the California Institute of Technology, part 1 of 4. Boston, MA: GBH Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_DC4ED0D6CC404567AD37CE7D6A2389ED

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NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Leon "Lee" Silver, Ph.D., Professor of Geology at the California Institute of Technology, part 1 of 4