American Experience Premieres Race To The Moon Options

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News from American Experience

http://www.pbs.org/amex

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In this issue:

- AMERICAN EXPERIENCE Premieres RACE TO THE MOON

- Podcast: AMERICAN EXPERIENCE Stories to Go

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AMERICAN EXPERIENCE premieres RACE TO THE MOON

Monday night, October 31 on PBS (check local listings)

In the early morning hours of December 21, 1968, three astronauts
strapped themselves into a tiny capsule perched atop the most
powerful rocket ever built. They were about to attempt the most
daring, dangerous mission in the history of exploration: a
journey from the earth to the moon. If they succeeded, they would
realize a dream that had captured people's imaginations since
time began. If they failed, the United States would be forced to
cede technological dominance to the Soviet Union at the height of
the Cold War. The three men were the crew of Apollo 8 -- the
first manned mission to the moon.

AMERICAN EXPERIENCE presents RACE TO THE MOON. The program
features first-hand recollections of astronauts William Anders,
Frank Borman, and James Lovell. Also interviewed are the
astronauts' wives; Walter Cronkite, who covered the event for CBS
News; staff from mission control in Houston; Soviet cosmonaut
Alexei Leonov; Andrew Chaikin, author of A Man on the Moon; and
John Logsdon, the director of the Space Policy Institute at
George Washington University.

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RACE TO THE MOON Online
http://www.pbs.org/amex/moon

Crew Conversations
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/moon/sfeature/sf_audio.html

Talk about a long-distance phone call! Mission control and the
Apollo 8 crew communicated across thousands of miles of space.
NASA installed "squawk boxes" in the homes of the Apollo 8
astronauts, so their families could listen in. Hear excerpts from
Apollo 8's onboard recordings.

Astronauts' Families
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/moon/sfeature/sf_families.html

Crew members' children answered endless questions, posed for
photo sessions, tolerated reporters outside their homes, and
shared the mixed blessing of living in a famous father's shadow.
What was it like to grow up with an astronaut dad? Read these
comments from the Borman, Lovell, and Anders families.

Online Poll
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/moon/sfeature/sf_poll.html

In July 1969, NASA achieved President John F. Kennedy's goal when
Apollo 11 astronauts set foot on the moon. The missions in
preparation for this achievement had cost more than $27 billion
of taxpayers' money (roughly $120 billion in 2004 dollars). Do
you think American achievements in space were worth the cost?
Take the online poll.

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Podcast: AMERICAN EXPERIENCE Stories to Go
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/podcasts.html

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