Special Collections

To the Moon Interviews

The To the Moon Interview Collection contains 146 raw interviews from To the Moon, a two-hour NOVA documentary that originally aired in 1999. The interviews, filmed in 1998, provide insights into the personal experiences of those who worked on NASA’s Apollo program that took humankind to the moon. The documentary tells the story of the space race between the US and the Soviet Union starting in the mid-1950s and focuses on major events in the race to reach the moon, including the launch of Sputnik, President John F. Kennedy’s 1962 announcement at Rice University that the US would reach the moon before the end of the decade, the fire on the Apollo 1 spacecraft, the moon landing, and contemporary research on the moon. The collection includes interviews with astronauts, engineers, flight directors, geologists, and lunar scientists, including Buzz Aldrin, astronaut on the Apollo 11 moon landing; Jim Lovell, astronaut and commander of the Apollo 13 mission; Gene Kranz, former NASA flight director; Robin M. Canup, astrophysicist; Farouk El-Baz, lunar scientist who worked on the Apollo program; and Dr. Gordon Swann, geologist with the US Geological Survey (USGS) and Principal Investigator of Lunar Geology during Apollo 14 and 15. Subjects include the moon; the Cold War; the origins of the moon and Earth; the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs; terrestrial and lunar geology; President John F. Kennedy; and NASA.

The To the Moon interviews were conducted by NOVA in 1998 for the two-hour documentary of the same name, which aired in 1999. Materials were digitized and contributed to the American Archive of Public Broadcasting (AAPB) in 2019.

Aaron Cohen, former Acting Deputy Administrator of NASA
Adelbert "Del" O. Tischler, Director of the Chemical Propulsion Division at NASA, and Director of the Shuttle Technology Office, part 2 of 2
Alan Binder, Principal Investigator of NASA's Lunar Prospector mission, part 2 of 4
Alan Binder, Principal Investigator of NASA's Lunar Prospector mission, part 2 of 4
Alan Binder, Principal Investigator of NASA's Lunar Prospector mission, part 3 of 4
Alan Binder, Principal Investigator of NASA's Lunar Prospector mission, part 4 of 4
Buzz Aldrin, engineer and astronaut, and lunar module pilot on Apollo 11, part 1 of 4
Buzz Aldrin, engineer and astronaut, and lunar module pilot on Apollo 11, part 2 of 4
Buzz Aldrin, engineer and astronaut, and lunar module pilot on Apollo 11, part 3 of 4
Buzz Aldrin, engineer and astronaut, and lunar module pilot on Apollo 11, part 4 of 4
Carolyn Shoemaker, Astronomer, part 1 of 3
... and 132 more, continuing below.
Carolyn Shoemaker, Astronomer, part 2 of 3 Carolyn Shoemaker, Astronomer, part 3 of 3 Charles "Pete" Conrad Jr., astronaut, engineer, and Commander on Apollo 12, part 1 of 2 Charles "Pete" Conrad Jr., astronaut, engineer, and Commander on Apollo 12, part 2 of 2 Christopher Columbus Kraft Jr., NASA engineer and manager who helped establish NASA's Mission Control Center, part 1 of 4 Christopher Columbus Kraft Jr., NASA engineer and manager who helped establish NASA's Mission Control Center, part 2 of 4 Christopher Columbus Kraft Jr., NASA engineer and manager who helped establish NASA's Mission Control Center, part 3 of 4 Christopher Columbus Kraft Jr., NASA engineer and manager who helped establish NASA's Mission Control Center, part 4 of 4 David Scott, astronaut and commander of Apollo 15, part 1 of 3 David Scott, astronaut and commander of Apollo 15, part 2 of 3 David Scott, astronaut and commander of Apollo 15, part 3 of 3 Donald Wilhelms, Geologist with the US Geological Survey who helped make a geologic mapping of the Moon and trained Apollo astronauts, part 1 of 3 Donald Wilhelms, Geologist with the US Geological Survey who helped make a geologic mapping of the Moon and trained Apollo astronauts, part 3 of 3 Dr. David "Dave" J. Roddy, Astrogeologist at the US Geological Survey, part 1 of 2 Dr. David "Dave" J. Roddy, Astrogeologist at the US Geological Survey, part 2 of 2 Dr. Gordon Swann, geologist with the US Geological Survey (USGS) and Principal Investigator of Lunar Geology for Apollo, part 1 of 4 Dr. Gordon Swann, geologist with the US Geological Survey (USGS) and Principal Investigator of Lunar Geology for Apollo, part 2 of 4 Dr. Gordon Swann, geologist with the US Geological Survey (USGS) and Principal Investigator of Lunar Geology for Apollo, part 3 of 4 Dr. Gordon Swann, geologist with the US Geological Survey (USGS) and Principal Investigator of Lunar Geology for Apollo, part 4 of 4 Edgar Dean "Ed" Mitchell, NASA astronaut who was Lunar Module pilot on Apollo 14, part 2 of 3 Edgar Dean "Ed" Mitchell, NASA astronaut who was Lunar Module pilot on Apollo 14, part 3 of 3 Farouk El-Baz, Director of the Center for Remote Sensing at Boston University, part 1 of 3 Farouk El-Baz, Director of the Center for Remote Sensing at Boston University, part 2 of 3 Farouk El-Baz, Director of the Center for Remote Sensing at Boston University, part 3 of 3 Footage of a roundtable conversation among lunar scientists, part 1 of 2 Footage of a roundtable conversation among lunar scientists, part 2 of 2 Footage of Langley Center and Apollo 1 spacecraft Footage of Monterey Conference, part 1 of 2 Footage of Monterey Conference, part 2 of 2 Footage of the moon, shots of Farouk El-Baz and James W. Head, part 1 of 3 Frank Borman, astronaut and Commander on Apollo 8, part 1 of 2 Frank Borman, astronaut and Commander on Apollo 8, part 2 of 2 Fred Haise, Jr., NASA astronaut during the Apollo 13 mission, part 1 of 3 Fred Haise, Jr., NASA astronaut during the Apollo 13 mission, part 2 of 3 Fred Haise, Jr., NASA astronaut during the Apollo 13 mission, part 3 of 3 Gene Cernan, NASA astronaut, aviator, and engineer who was part of Gemini 9A, Apollo 10, and Apollo 17, part 1 of 3 Gene Cernan, NASA astronaut, aviator, and engineer who was part of Gemini 9A, Apollo 10, and Apollo 17, part 2 of 3 Gene Cernan, NASA astronaut, aviator, and engineer who was part of Gemini 9A, Apollo 10, and Apollo 17, part 3 of 3 Gene Kranz, NASA Flight Director, part 1 of 5 Gene Kranz, NASA Flight Director, part 2 of 5 Gene Kranz, NASA Flight Director, part 3 of 5 Gene Kranz, NASA Flight Director, part 4 of 5 Gene Kranz, NASA Flight Director, part 5 of 5 George Mueller, engineer and associate administrator at NASA, part 1 of 3 George Mueller, engineer and associate administrator at NASA, part 2 of 3 George Mueller, engineer and associate administrator at NASA, part 3 of 3 Gerald J. Wasserburg, Professor of Geology and Geophysics, Emeritus, on the John D. MacArthur chair at the California Institute of Technology, part 1 of 3 Gerald J. Wasserburg, Professor of Geology and Geophysics, Emeritus, on the John D. MacArthur chair at the California Institute of Technology, part 2 of 3 Gerald J. Wasserburg, Professor of Geology and Geophysics, Emeritus, on the John D. MacArthur chair at the California Institute of Technology, part 3 of 3 Glynn Lunney, NASA engineer and flight director during the Gemini and Apollo programs, part 1 of 4 Glynn Lunney, NASA engineer and flight director during the Gemini and Apollo programs, part 2 of 4 Glynn Lunney, NASA engineer and flight director during the Gemini and Apollo programs, part 3 of 4 Glynn Lunney, NASA engineer and flight director during the Gemini and Apollo programs, part 4 of 4 Graham Ryder, Geologist and Lunar Scientist, part 1 of 2 Graham Ryder, Geologist and Lunar Scientist, part 2 of 2 Harrison Hagan "Jack" Schmitt, geologist, astronaut, and Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 17, part 1 of 3 Harrison Hagan "Jack" Schmitt, geologist, astronaut, and Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 17, part 2 of 3 Harrison Hagan "Jack" Schmitt, geologist, astronaut, and Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 17, part 3 of 3 James "Jim" Lovell, astronaut, commander of Apollo 13, and command module pilot of Apollo 8, part 1 of 2 James "Jim" Lovell, astronaut, commander of Apollo 13, and command module pilot of Apollo 8, part 2 of 2 James "Jim" Lovell, Frank Borman, and William "Bill" Anders, astronauts on the Apollo 8 mission, part 1 of 2 James "Jim" Lovell, Frank Borman, and William "Bill" Anders, astronauts on the Apollo 8 mission, part 2 of 2 James T. Rose, Engineer, part 1 of 2 James T. Rose, Engineer, part 2 of 2 James W. Head III, Professor of Geological Sciences at Brown University, and Farouk El-Baz, Director of the Center for Remote Sensing at Boston University, part 2 of 3 James W. Head III, Professor of Geological Sciences at Brown University, and Farouk El-Baz, Director of the Center for Remote Sensing at Boston University, part 3 of 3
James W. Head III, Professor of Geological Sciences at Brown University, part 1 of 3 James W. Head III, Professor of Geological Sciences at Brown University, part 2 of 3 James W. Head III, Professor of Geological Sciences at Brown University, part 3 of 3 John Cornelius Houbolt, aerospace engineer behind the Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (LOR), part 1 of 4 John Cornelius Houbolt, aerospace engineer behind the Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (LOR), part 2 of 4 John Cornelius Houbolt, aerospace engineer behind the Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (LOR), part 3 of 4 John Cornelius Houbolt, aerospace engineer behind the Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (LOR), part 4 of 4 John Leland "Lee" Atwood, engineer, aerospace executive, and overseer of the Apollo program, part 1 of 2 John Leland "Lee" Atwood, engineer, aerospace executive, and overseer of the Apollo program, part 2 of 2 John R. Sevier, Mission Operations Division, NASA Space Center John Young, astronaut and engineer who served as Commander of the Apollo 16 mission, part 1 of 2 John Young, astronaut and engineer who served as Commander of the Apollo 16 mission, part 2 of 2 Leon "Lee" Silver and Harrison "Jack" Schmitt at Sunset Crater, part 1 of 2 Leon "Lee" Silver, Harrison "Jack" Schmitt, and Gordon Swann at Sunset Crater, part 2 of 2 Leon "Lee" Silver, Ph.D., Professor of Geology at the California Institute of Technology, part 1 of 4 Leon "Lee" Silver, Ph.D., Professor of Geology at the California Institute of Technology, part 2 of 4 Leon "Lee" Silver, Ph.D., Professor of Geology at the California Institute of Technology, part 3 of 4 Leon "Lee" Silver, Ph.D., Professor of Geology at the California Institute of Technology, part 4 of 4 Lisa Gaddis, Eric Eliason, and others at the US Geological Survey, part 1 of 2 Lisa Gaddis, Eric Eliason, and others at the US Geological Survey, part 2 of 2 Maxime "Max" Faget, a mechanical engineer who worked on Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo spacecraft, part 1 of 3 Maxime "Max" Faget, a mechanical engineer who worked on Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo spacecraft, part 2 of 3 Maxime "Max" Faget, a mechanical engineer who worked on Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo spacecraft, part 3 of 3 Michael B. Duke, aerospace scientist and Principal Investigator for the Apollo Lunar Sample program, part 1 of 2 Michael B. Duke, aerospace scientist and Principal Investigator for the Apollo Lunar Sample program, part 2 of 2 Michael J. Drake, Director of the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory and Principal Investigator of OSIRIS-Rex Program, part 1 of 2 Michael J. Drake, Director of the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory and Principal Investigator of OSIRIS-Rex Program, part 2 of 2 Paul Spudis, geologist and lunar scientist, part 1 of 2 Paul Spudis, geologist and lunar scientist, part 2 of 2 R. Walter Cunningham, NASA astronaut who served as Lunar Module Pilot during Apollo 7, part 1 of 2 R. Walter Cunningham, NASA astronaut who served as Lunar Module Pilot during Apollo 7, part 2 of 2 Ralph Baldwin, planetary scientist, part 1 of 3 Ralph Baldwin, planetary scientist, part 2 of 3 Ralph Baldwin, planetary scientist, part 3 of 3 Ralph [no last name] of the US Geological Survey Robert Channing Seamans, Jr., Deputy Administrator at NASA and Professor at MIT, part 1 of 3 Robert Channing Seamans, Jr., Deputy Administrator at NASA and Professor at MIT, part 2 of 3 Robert Channing Seamans, Jr., Deputy Administrator at NASA and Professor at MIT, part 3 of 3 Robin M. Canup, Astrophysicist Rocco Petrone, mechanical engineer and director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center from 1973-1974, part 1 of 3 Rocco Petrone, mechanical engineer and director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center from 1973-1974, part 2 of 3 Rocco Petrone, mechanical engineer and director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center from 1973-1974, part 3 of 3 Seymour "Sy" Liebergot, NASA flight controller during the Apollo program, part 1 of 3 Seymour "Sy" Liebergot, NASA flight controller during the Apollo program, part 2 of 3 Seymour "Sy" Liebergot, NASA flight controller during the Apollo program, part 3 of 3 Speeches by James "Jim" Lovell, Frank Borman, and William "Bill" Anders, astronauts on the Apollo 8 mission at the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, Illinois Steve Bales, former NASA engineer and flight controller, part 1 of 3 Steve Bales, former NASA engineer and flight controller, part 2 of 3 Steve Bales, former NASA engineer and flight controller, part 3 of 3 Stuart Ross Taylor, geochemist, planetary scientist, and Emeritus Professor at the Australian National University Theodore Sorensen, speechwriter and adviser to President John F. Kennedy Thomas Joseph Kelly, aerospace engineer responsible for working on the Apollo Lunar Module, part 1 of 3 Thomas Joseph Kelly, aerospace engineer responsible for working on the Apollo Lunar Module, part 2 of 3 Thomas Joseph Kelly, aerospace engineer responsible for working on the Apollo Lunar Module, part 3 of 3 Thomas P. Stafford, NASA astronaut, Air Force Officer, and Commander of Apollo 10, part 1 of 3 Thomas P. Stafford, NASA astronaut, Air Force Officer, and Commander of Apollo 10, part 2 of 3 Thomas P. Stafford, NASA astronaut, Air Force Officer, and Commander of Apollo 10, part 3 of 3 Walter "Wally" Schirra, naval aviator, astronaut, and commander of Apollo 7, part 1 of 3 Walter "Wally" Schirra, naval aviator, astronaut, and commander of Apollo 7, part 2 of 3 Walter "Wally" Schirra, naval aviator, astronaut, and commander of Apollo 7, part 3 of 3 William "Bill" Anders, US Air Force Major general, engineer, astronaut, and Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 8, part 1 of 3 William "Bill" Anders, US Air Force Major general, engineer, astronaut, and Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 8, part 2 of 3 William "Bill" Anders, US Air Force Major general, engineer, astronaut, and Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 8, part 3 of 3 William K. Hartmann, Senior Scientist Emeritus at the Planetary Science Institute, part 1 of 3 William K. Hartmann, Senior Scientist Emeritus at the Planetary Science Institute, part 2 of 3 William K. Hartmann, Senior Scientist Emeritus at the Planetary Science Institute, part 3 of 3