NASA's
greatest missions are about to get a high definition makeover by the Discovery
Channel this year to commemorate the U.S.
space agency's 50th anniversary.
"When
We Left Earth: The NASA Missions," a miniseries that follows Discovery's popular
"Planet Earth" series, will showcase 50
years of space exploration. The series includes some never-before-seen film
culled from 500 hours of footage plucked from NASA's archives and carefully
restored for broadcast in high definition (HD).
"No
gimmicks, no photoshopping, no CGI," said John Ford, president and general
manager of Discovery Channel, in a preview webcast from the newly opened
Davidson Center for Space Exploration in Huntsville, Alabama.
Moonwalkers
Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11, and Charlie Duke, Apollo 16, were also on hand to discuss
their experiences as Apollo astronauts.
"I was
so excited during the entire 11 days [of the mission] that it bubbled up,"
Duke said, describing himself and fellow Apollo 16 astronaut John Young as
"two little five-year-olds running around" and comparing their antics
with those of his grandsons.
Duke also
noted that one grandson owns an iPod with "a million times more
computational power than what we had" on the lunar landing missions, which
launched between 1969 and 1972.
"We
did pretty well with what we had," Aldrin added.
A 10-minute
preview clip of the upcoming Discovery Channel series highlighted the thrill
and danger of the Apollo missions set against the Cold War's space race, with a
stunning sequence of the 36-story Saturn
V rocket roaring spaceward while burning 20 tons of fuel per second.
NASA will return
to the moon with its Ares rockets and Orion spacecraft that are slated to
replace the aging space shuttle. However, the shuttle's retirement in 2010
leaves a five-year gap in spaceflight capabilities until the new spacecraft
come online.
"I
would hope we have the national will and political will to get through this dry
spell while we point back towards the moon," Duke said. He favored a
"balanced" NASA approach between manned missions and unmanned robotic
exploration.
Aldrin
emphasized the need for "parallel access to low earth orbit" with
private space ventures helping fill the spaceflight gap. He also pushed for a
more aggressive timetable that looked beyond Earth orbit and the moon towards
Mars.
"Mars
is where we need permanence," Aldrin said. "We need to go to the moon
to learn how to go to Mars, but to establish [lunar] permanence will maybe
absorb too many resources."
Both
astronauts observed that space exploration has not only pushed the
technological envelope, but has also benefited ordinary Americans and people
across the world.
"There's
not one area of our life that has not been touched by space age
technology," Duke said.
Although the
astronauts were enthusiastic when asked about audiences getting to view space
exploration in HD, Aldrin noted one downside.
"We
don't have makeup people who go along with our crew," Aldrin said.
"When
We Left Earth: The NASA Missions" will air as a six-hour special on
consecutive Sundays, June 8, 15, and 27.
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