NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Dr. Gordon Swann, geologist with the US Geological Survey (USGS) and Principal Investigator of Lunar Geology for Apollo, part 3 of 4

thumbnail of NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Dr. Gordon Swann, geologist with the US Geological Survey (USGS) and Principal Investigator of Lunar Geology for Apollo, part 3 of 4
This record is featured in “To the Moon Interviews.”
Series
NOVA
Episode
To the Moon
Raw Footage
Interview with Dr. Gordon Swann, geologist with the US Geological Survey (USGS) and Principal Investigator of Lunar Geology for Apollo, part 3 of 4
Producing Organization
WGBH Educational Foundation
Contributing Organization
WGBH (Boston, Massachusetts)
AAPB ID
cpb-aacip/15-st7dr2qn5w
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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
Dr. Gordon Swann, geologist with the US Geological Survey (USGS) and Principal Investigator of Lunar Geology during Apollo 14 and 15, is interviewed about working on the later stages of the Apollo program. Swann discusses his work with Gene Shoemaker, and expresses his opinions on the geological successes of the Apollo 11, 12, 13, and 14 missions, saying that Apollo 11 and 12 did well for the training and time that they had, but wishing that Apollo 13 had been able to reach the moon, since he says Jim Lovell and Fred Haise had better geological training than the Apollo 14 crew. Apollo 15 landed in the Hadley mountains and found anorthosite, which Swann describes, and Apollo 16 found that the Cayley formation was not volcanic. Swann credits Jack Schmitt with getting more geology into the program, and talks about their time living together, during which Schmitt found out he would be going to the moon on Apollo 17. Swann describes the events at Ballet Crater during Apollo 17 and how the crater got its name, and mentions Schmitt and Cernan's discovery of orange soil on the moon. The final minute of the interview contains audio from Gordon Swann and Jack Schmitt's (from tape 52255, ID "barcode52255_Schmitt_01") respective interviews.
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
00:23:18
Embed Code
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Credits
Interviewee: Swann, Gordon, 1931-2014
Producing Organization: WGBH Educational Foundation
AAPB Contributor Holdings
WGBH
Identifier: 52255 (barcode)
Format: Digital Betacam
Generation: Original
Duration: 0:23:18

Identifier: cpb-aacip-15-st7dr2qn5w.mp4 (mediainfo)
Format: video/mp4
Generation: Proxy
Duration: 00:23:18
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Citations
Chicago: “NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Dr. Gordon Swann, geologist with the US Geological Survey (USGS) and Principal Investigator of Lunar Geology for Apollo, part 3 of 4 ,” 1998-00-00, WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed January 3, 2025, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-st7dr2qn5w.
MLA: “NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Dr. Gordon Swann, geologist with the US Geological Survey (USGS) and Principal Investigator of Lunar Geology for Apollo, part 3 of 4 .” 1998-00-00. WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. January 3, 2025. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-st7dr2qn5w>.
APA: NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with Dr. Gordon Swann, geologist with the US Geological Survey (USGS) and Principal Investigator of Lunar Geology for Apollo, part 3 of 4 . 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-st7dr2qn5w