Series
NOVA
Episode
To the Moon
Raw Footage
Interview with Farouk El-Baz, Director of the Center for Remote Sensing at Boston University, part 1 of 3
Producing Organization
WGBH Educational Foundation
Contributing Organization
WGBH (Boston, Massachusetts)
AAPB ID
cpb-aacip/15-j09w08xp0r
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Description
Program Description
This remarkably crafted program covers the full range of participants in the Apollo project, from the scientists and engineers who promoted bold ideas about the nature of the Moon and how to get there, to the young geologists who chose the landing sites and helped train the crews, to the astronauts who actually went - not once or twice, but six times, each to a more demanding and interesting location on the Moon's surface. "To The Moon" includes unprecedented footage, rare interviews, and presents a magnificent overview of the history of man and the Moon. To the Moon aired as NOVA episode 2610 in 1999.
Raw Footage Description
Farouk El-Baz, Director of the Center for Remote Sensing at Boston University, and space scientist who worked on the Apollo program, is interviewed about his early career and time with NASA. He explains how he worked with NASA while working for the Bell Company, and his creation of a classification of lunar surface features, which he later used to determine site selection for Apollo missions. El-Baz originally joined with NASA as a temporary job, but stayed once he grew interested in the program, and was able to bring his knowledge of metallurgy into the program. He details some of the discrimination he faced as an Egyptian geologist, and explains how he had mapped the moon before they had gone to the surface. When El-Baz and fellow scientists wanted to advocate for a site on a mission, they would find a way to get to the director to plead their case, and explains the divide between the engineers and scientists on the Apollo program. According to El-Baz, the astronauts did not like the geological aspect of the training, and it required convincing to get the astronauts interested. El-Baz explains what it was like to teach Ken Mattingly and Stuart Roosa, and calls his astronauts his best students.
Created Date
1998-00-00
Asset type
Raw Footage
Genres
Interview
Topics
History
Technology
Science
Subjects
American History; Gemini; apollo; moon; Space; astronaut
Media type
Moving Image
Duration
00:23:10
Embed Code
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Credits
Interviewee: El-Baz, Farouk, 1938-
Producing Organization: WGBH Educational Foundation
AAPB Contributor Holdings
WGBH
Identifier: 52081 (barcode)
Format: Digital Betacam
Generation: Original
Duration: 0:23:11

Identifier: cpb-aacip-15-j09w08xp0r.mp4 (mediainfo)
Format: video/mp4
Generation: Proxy
Duration: 00:23:10
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Citations
Chicago: “NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Farouk El-Baz, Director of the Center for Remote Sensing at Boston University, part 1 of 3 ,” 1998-00-00, WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed December 27, 2024, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-j09w08xp0r.
MLA: “NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Farouk El-Baz, Director of the Center for Remote Sensing at Boston University, part 1 of 3 .” 1998-00-00. WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. December 27, 2024. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-j09w08xp0r>.
APA: NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Farouk El-Baz, Director of the Center for Remote Sensing at Boston University, part 1 of 3 . Boston, MA: WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-j09w08xp0r