The Space Above Us

Gene Cernan, Ron Evans, and Harrison Schmitt kick off the final lunar landing mission of the Apollo Program with a spectacular night launch. But how did they end up with these last three coveted seats?

It's time to go find some volcanic rock and confirm the hypothesis of the formation of the Descartes region. I hope you like orange juice.

John Young, Charlie Duke, and Ken Mattingly are headed to the moon for the second J-mission. Geologists have them on the hunt for volcanic rock, hoping to test their hypothesis on how the lunar highlands were formed.

This week we head to the Hadley-Apennine region to explore the surface with Dave Scott and Jim Irwin. Five EVAs, driving around in the lunar rover, and obstinate drills await us!

Dave Scott and Jim Irwin are headed for Hadley-Apennine, while Al Worden is getting all sorts of science done in lunar orbit. Just what does a Command Module Pilot do, anyway? Find out!

It's been a long way, but we're here.. for the second part of our coverage of Apollo 14! Get your lunar hiking boots on, we're headed for Cone Crater!

Alan Shepard is back in the saddle and headed to the moon with Ed Mitchell and Stu Roosa on Apollo 14. Also I make fun of Ed Mitchell a bunch.

Apollo 13 is in trouble. But with a lot of clever thinking and a bit of luck, we might just be able to get the crew home.

It's time to go for the hat trick and attempt NASA's third landing on the moon. After doing this twice already, everything should be smooth sailing. Right?

This week we'll talk about Mission Control, the room full of experts that helps keep each NASA human spaceflight mission running smoothly. Where did it come from? What is its role in the mission? And just what are all those guys actually doing anyway?

Pete Conrad and Alan Bean head to the surface. There are plenty of science experiments to set up, robots to vandalize, and selfies to.. not take.

Join us as we follow the crew of Apollo 12 into lunar orbit as they prepare to land in the Ocean of Storms. Get your signal conditioning equipment ready because it's going to be a shocking launch!

Listen to some of the actual audio from the Apollo 11 mission. Included is the air to ground audio and flight director loop from the powered descent and landing, as well as about 10 minutes surrounding Armstrong's first step on the surface.

Last time, we successfully landed in the Sea of Tranquility with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. But what did they actually do there? And how did they decide who gets out first?

Columbia and Eagle make the final leg of the journey. It's time to head to the surface.

Don your helmet and gloves, clip into the restraint system, and load up Program 63. It's time to learn how to land on the moon in far more detail than you wanted!

We is down among 'em on this second journey to the moon. Follow the crew as they fly within spitting distance of the lunar surface.

A Gumdrop and a Spider fly into low earth orbit.. no, this isn't the start of a bad joke, it's the start of Apollo 9!

The stage has been set and the time has come. The crew of Apollo 8 are go for TLI. Let's go to the moon!

Apollo 8 was humanity's first time leaving its home planet, and it was just too big to fit into one episode. Join us this week as we learn about the mission's origins, who will be flying it, and how tricky it is to plan a launch window.

Wally Schirra, Donn Eisele, and Walter Cunningham get NASA back on track and fly the first crewed mission of the Apollo Program.

We take a somber look at Apollo 1, the first planned flight of the Apollo Program. We honor the crew and try to learn from their sacrifice.

This week we learn about the ungainly beast, and engineering marvel, that is the Apollo Lunar Module.

We've talked about the muscle and brains of Apollo, but this week we talk about the heart of every mission: the Apollo Command and Service Modules.

This week, we discuss the computers and software of the Apollo Program, with a special focus on the memory system of the Apollo Guidance Computer.