NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with James W. Head III, Professor of Geological Sciences at Brown University, and Farouk El-Baz, Director of the Center for Remote Sensing at Boston University, part 2 of 3

thumbnail of NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with James W. Head III, Professor of Geological Sciences at Brown University, and Farouk El-Baz, Director of the Center for Remote Sensing at Boston University, part 2 of 3
This record is featured in “To the Moon Interviews.” This record is featured in “GBH Archives.”
Series
NOVA
Episode
To the Moon
Raw Footage
Interview with James W. Head III, Professor of Geological Sciences at Brown University, and Farouk El-Baz, Director of the Center for Remote Sensing at Boston University, part 2 of 3
Producing Organization
WGBH Educational Foundation
Contributing Organization
WGBH (Boston, Massachusetts)
AAPB ID
cpb-aacip-15-804xg9gc5n
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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
Conversation between James W. Head, Professor of Geological Sciences at Brown University, and Farouk El-Baz, Director of the Center for Remote Sensing at Boston University, on images of the lunar surface. Head and El-Baz talk about the features of the moon and go through the process of planning where they would send astronauts on future hypothetical missions, using geological features and the practicalities of lunar navigation to inform their decisions. The two go over the landing sites from Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17, and discuss the unique features of each mission, including the feats of Apollo 11. El-Baz talks about the presence of water on the moon (audio cuts out), and the two discuss the hot and cold theories of the moon, and the geologists' lack of knowledge about the moon's temperature, creation, and makeup. The answers held the key to scientists' application of principles of lunar knowledge to the Earth's creation and history. El-Baz and Head talk about what they wanted the astronauts to look for, including in-space observations, the types of rocks on the surface and their relation to various types of creation, and the locations of rocks in relation to the surface depth. When incorporating geology into the Apollo program, El-Baz remembers the astronauts' initial dislike of the training, which changed as the astronauts' mission became more geologically-based once the lunar surface was attainable. From the rocks found on the moon, the scientists were able to find out more about the age of the moon and the creation of the moon and its rocks. The interview ends with B-Roll of Head and El-Baz looking at images and charts of the moon.
Created Date
1998
Asset type
Raw Footage
Genres
Interview
Topics
History
Technology
Science
Subjects
American History; Gemini; apollo; moon; Space; astronaut
Media type
Moving Image
Duration
00:22:39
Embed Code
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Credits
Producing Organization: WGBH Educational Foundation
AAPB Contributor Holdings
WGBH
Identifier: cpb-aacip-62106d3b9c4 (Filename)
Format: Digital Betacam
Generation: Original
Duration: 0:22:40
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Citations
Chicago: “NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with James W. Head III, Professor of Geological Sciences at Brown University, and Farouk El-Baz, Director of the Center for Remote Sensing at Boston University, part 2 of 3 ,” 1998, WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed January 31, 2026, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-804xg9gc5n.
MLA: “NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with James W. Head III, Professor of Geological Sciences at Brown University, and Farouk El-Baz, Director of the Center for Remote Sensing at Boston University, part 2 of 3 .” 1998. WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. January 31, 2026. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-804xg9gc5n>.
APA: NOVA; To the Moon; Interview with James W. Head III, Professor of Geological Sciences at Brown University, and Farouk El-Baz, Director of the Center for Remote Sensing at Boston University, part 2 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-15-804xg9gc5n