From the Earth to the Moon - Mini-series Review

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin on the moon

This brilliant mini-series allows you to experience one of the greatest engineering feats of mankind.

Produced by Ron Howard, Tom Hanks and Brian Grazer in 1998, this HBO mini-series was based largely on one of my favourite books, Andrew Chaikin’s A Man on the Moon.

Being a fan of the Apollo mission, I’ve watched many documentaries on the subject. If you’re not too enthused by watching documentaries, then this series will really let you experience the courage, emotion and ingenuity of the many people who made the mission a success.

Two of my favourite episodes are episodes 5 and 10, titled “the Spider” and “Galileo was Right”. The Spider follows NASA's engineer John Houbolt plight to convince management that the only way to succeed was to have a separate lunar module landing craft. The episode then follows the work of Grumman engineers as they design and test the lunar module. In Galileo was Right, we see how test fighter pilots are turned from tough guys into ardent geologists—men of science. And it’s through their understanding of the moon’s geology that David Scott and James Irwin discover the prized “Genesis Rock”.

I believe the vast and skillful planning and implementation of the Apollo mission needs to be written in a book; however, from a project management perspective. Who knows, maybe someday I'll have the chance to write it.