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martyb [soylentnews.org] writes:

Thanks to an article I saw on Ars Technica [arstechnica.com], I was reminded that the BBC is in the process of producing and releasing a series of downloadable podcasts which lead up to and include Apollo 11 -- the first manned landing on the moon -- on July 20, 1969.

13 Minutes To The Moon [bbc.co.uk]:

On 13 May 2019, the BBC will be launching 13 Minutes To The Moon, a 12-part series covering the Apollo programme through the final dramatic 13-minute descent of the Apollo 11 mission, when everything came close to going badly wrong. Communication was breaking down, technology was failing and fuel was running out.

The BBC World Service has been making a major impact on the world of podcasting and this new series tells the story of the scientists, engineers, programmers and astronauts whose work during those tense minutes - and for years beforehand - prevented failure. The theme music written by Grammy and Academy Award-winner Hans Zimmer for Bleeding Fingers Music, is the first that the composer has ever written for podcast.

The final episode will be recorded live at Houston’s Rice University, where U.S. President John F. Kennedy made his speech in 1962, famously announcing his ambition to take humankind to the moon. It will be released on the exact 50th anniversary of the moon landing, 20 July 2019.

13 Minutes to the Moon is the full story of how a predominantly young workforce was mobilised to make JFK’s vision a reality, despite having no idea at the start how to do it. The podcast has secured revealing, in-depth interviews with some of the key figures who made it happen. And we’ll hear about what happened between 1961 and 1969 to create what was one of humanity’s greatest triumphs.

By the end of the series, listeners will know in detail the dramatic sequence of events of those final 13 minutes to the moon. Episode 11 will be the 13 minutes in real time.

The show is hosted by Dr. Kevin Fong, who wanted to be an astronaut, and holds degrees in astrophysics, medicine and space engineering. He grew up inspired by stories of the Apollo programme, and wanted to take the listener along with him on a deep dive into a subject of lifelong fascination. As he says in the first episode, it isn’t a spoiler to say we know they got there: "This podcast is about trying to understand how that happened."

New episodes of the podcasts are being released periodically. So far, 4 introductory pieces and 6 episodes are available [bbc.co.uk] for direct listening or download.

I just finished listening to Episode 6: Saving 1968 [bbc.co.uk] and must confess I always thought Apollo 8's mission seemed strange... approach and orbit the moon, but do not land when you were so very close? This episode made clear how much of an undertaking that mission actually was and how great a triumph it actually was.

Most highly recommended!

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