[meteorite-list] [OT-ish] "From the Earth to the Moon"

[Notkin]

Dear Listees:

I wonder how many of you have seen the HBO mini-series "From the Earth 
to the Moon," which was produced by Tom Hanks back in 1998.

It is a 12-episode drama recounting the history of the Apollo space 
program. The show is somewhat similar in production values to Ron 
Howard's excellent film "Apollo 13," and does a fine job of recreating 
the late 1960s, Mission Control, and so on. Looking back at those 
exciting times sitting here in the 21st Century, it is all the more 
astonishing that we were able to put pilots on the Moon with what, 
today, seems like primitive technology. I think my little Apple laptop 
is more powerful than the whole Mission Control guidance computer  : )

I watched the series on DVD, from Netflix, and found it to be most 
engaging, but you do have to sit through a couple of mediocre episodes. 
Of particular interest to List members will be Episode 10, "Galileo was 
Right." It follows the crew of Apollo 15 as they are trained in field 
geology in California and Arizona (no Meteor Crater, unfortunately), 
and the subsequent exploration of lunar craters and Hadley Rille by 
Lunar Rover during their mission. Pretty much a case of meteorite 
hunting on the surface of the Moon!

Astronaut/geologist Harrison "Jack" Schmitt is featured in Episodes 10 
and 12. That was a treat, as a number of us had the pleasure of meeting 
Jack when he was guest of honor at the Westward Look Resort thanks to 
Al Lang, Bob Haag, and colleagues who arranged his speaking engagement 
during the 2005 Tucson show.

Episode 5, "Spider," which details the development of the Lunar Module 
was the other stand-out episode for me.

Definitely a 9 out of 10 show:   http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120570


Regards to all,

Geoff N.

www.aerolite.org