Apollo 40th Anniversary Documentaries

This is a list of Apollo 11 related programmes to commemmorate the 40th anniversary of the moon landing, that are airing on the Sky and Freesat platforms in Europe over the coming days. If you live in the US and would like me to update this list with programmes available to a US audience, please use the Contact Us form to send in any info.

DOCUMENTARY: Apollo Wives	BBC 4	18th July 2009, 19:30
DOCUMENTARY: Apollo Wives	BBC 4	19th July 2009, 01:30
Ten extraordinary women, all in their seventies, come to Arizona for a very special reunion. They are very different from one another, but all have one thing in common - each was married to an Apollo astronaut. The women were right at the heart of the most ambitious journey ever made, as America shot for the moon. In exclusive interviews, they tell how it felt to watch their husband blast off into space and about the death, danger and divorce as many of their men struggled to come back to earth.
DOCUMENTARY: Apollo 13	National Geographic	19th July 2009, 23:00
In 1970, this US spacecraft was on its way to land on the Moon, but things went terrifyingly wrong when an oxygen tank exploded. Unlock the real story behind the headlines.
DOCUMENTARY: Hidden Horrors of The Moon Landings	National Geographic	19th July 2009, 20:00
DOCUMENTARY: Hidden Horrors of The Moon Landings	National Geographic HD	20th July 2009, 16:00
From scientific breakthroughs, escapes and heartbreaking disasters, discover the untold stories of the Apollo space missions, where 24 men risked their lives for science.
DOCUMENTARY: Beyond The Moon: Failure Is Not An Option II	History	20th July 2009, 08:00
In 1969, America won the race to the moon. But what happened next? The victory was gained, and public interest waned. For the men and women of NASA, however, giving up was not an option...
DOCUMENTARY: Moon Machines	Discovery Science	20th July 2009, 10:00
The entire series of six episodes run back to back: Saturn V; Command Module; Navigation; Lunar Module; Suits; Lunar Rover.
FILM: Destination Moon (1950)	Film4	20th July 2009, 16:20
Irving Pichel's film is a landmark in many ways, accurately depicting weightlessness, space walks and the technique of moon landing way ahead of even later films, rewarded with an Oscar for special effects. Scripted by sf writer Robert Heinlein, the tension comes from various escapades on the way to the moon and then the problems of returning, when the remaining fuel isn't enough to leave and all weight must be shed.
DOCUMENTARY: Base Camp Moon	Discovery Science	20th July 2009, 18:00
In 2018 astronauts will once again set foot on the lunar surface. Their mission: to develop technologies that will take them to Mars and beyond.
DOCUMENTARY: Mythbusters	Discovery	20th July 2009, 19:00
Nasa Moon Landing: The Mythbusters team tackles the tallest tale of all in 'Moon Landing Hoax Hour'. Did NASA pull off the greatest cover-up in human History
DOCUMENTARY: The Truth Behind the Moon Landings	Discovery Science	20th July 2009, 17:00
A growing band of people now claim that the moon landings were faked. This programme takes the conspiracy theories and dismantles them one by one.
DOCUMENTARY: First on the Moon: The Untold Story	Discovery Science	20th July 2009, 21:00
In 1969, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin took man's first steps on the moon. Explore the previously untold account of how close this came to disaster.
FILM: Moonwalk One	Discovery / Discovery HD	20th July 2009, 22:00
See for the first time Theo Kamecke's extraordinary film of the first moon landing. Thought lost for 35 years, it chronicles mankind's greatest achievement in staggering detail. Available on Blu-ray
DOCUMENTARY: Being Neil Armstrong	BBC 4	20th July 2009, 22:30
Andrew Smith, author of the best-selling book Moondust, journeys across America to try and discover the real Neil Armstrong - a man who, in the four decades since he set foot on the moon, has become increasingly reclusive. Smith tracks down the people who knew Armstrong, from his closest childhood friend to fellow astronauts and Houston technicians, and even the barber who sold his hair, in a wry and sideways look at the reluctant hero of the greatest event of the twentieth century.
DOCUMENTARY: Moonshot - The Flight Of Apollo 11	RTE 1	20th July 2009, 22:30
DOCUMENTARY: Moonshot - The Flight Of Apollo 11	ITV1/UTV	20th July 2009, 22:50
Drama documentary weaving the story of the men who undertook the historic mission to land on the moon with NASA footage of Apollo 11. Dramatising key moments in the years spent preparing for the mission, the film follows the astronauts as they go through NASA's intense selection procedures and reveals the arduous Apollo training programme and its impact on their families and friendships. Then in July 1969, the astronauts' long wait comes to an end as Apollo 11 begins its journey to the moon.
FILM: In The Shadow of The Moon	Channel 4	21st July 2009, 00:10
Forty years ago today, the Apollo 11 crew became the first men to walk on the surface of the moon. In the Shadow of the Moon tells the fascinating stories of the 12 astronauts who, between 1969 and 1972, set foot on the moon and to this day are the only human beings ever to have stood on another world. This critically-acclaimed documentary brings together for the first, and possibly the last, time crew members from every Apollo mission to tell their remarkable stories in their own words. First-hand testimony is interwoven with digitally re-mastered footage from NASA's own archives, much of it kept in cold storage since its return from the moon. Interviewees include Apollo 11's Buzz Aldrin and Mike Collins, Apollo 13's Jim Lovell and the last man on the moon, Apollo 17's Gene Cernan. Read my review.
DOCUMENTARY: The Making of Moonwalk One	Discovery	21st July 2009, 00:30
Follow the production process behind Theo Kamecke's film about Apollo 11's flight to the moon in July 1969. A poetic record of Man's first attempt to walk on another world.
DOCUMENTARY: Orbit: Journey To The Moon	Discovery HD	21st July 2009, 01:00
See the amazing hand-held footage shot by astronauts Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins on the first lunar mission in 1969, and hear commentary from these space pioneers.
FILM: Apollo 11 (1996)	True Movies	27th July 2009, 05:00
Emmy-nominated account of the legendary Apollo 11 moon mission, told through the experiences of the three astronauts and their families.