Apollo: Missions to the Moon; 1 July, 21:00

The Armstrong Tapes; 8 July, 21:00

Apollo: Back to the Moon; 15 and 22 July, 21:00.

Mars: Inside SpaceX; 7 July, 13:00

Expedition Mars: Spirit and Opportunity; 14 July, 20:50

Explorer: Journey to Europa; 21 July, 19:05

Challenger Disaster: The Final Mission; 21 July, 20:50

Mission Pluto and Beyond; 28 July, 19:05

 On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong climbed down a small ladder to place a foot onto the moon’s surface and proclaimed, ‘That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.’  On that fateful day, with more than half a billion people worldwide watching on television, Apollo 11 became the first spaceflight to land man on the moon. Led by astronauts Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin, the mission effectively ended the Space Race and fulfilled an American goal set by President John F. Kennedy. This historic feat changed the world forever.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary, National Geographic kicks off its Space Month programming event with the epic two-hour feature documentary Apollo: Missions to the Moon on Monday 1 July at 21:00. The film is executive produced and directed by acclaimed Emmy and Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Tom Jennings.

This film weaves together more than 500 hours of footage, 800 hours of audio and 10,000 photos, using Jennings’ signature style of first-person storytelling to take viewers behind the scenes. This intimate, immersive account spans the full sweep of NASA’s Apollo Space Program — from the ill-fated Apollo 1 mission, which claimed the lives of three astronauts, to the final flight that brought the program to a close.

The following week, the one hour documentary, The Armstrong Tapes, provides a personal and in-depth look at Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon. Armstrong’s sole authorized biographer, family members and colleagues sit down with National Geographic to reveal an intimate look at one of the world’s greatest and least-known heroes on 8 July at 21:00.

Using a fresh perspective and driven by the production processes and techniques that have evolved rapidly, Apollo: Back to the Moon, describes the epic adventure to the moon in two parts on 15 and 22 July at 21:00. Against the backdrop of the Cold War, follow the Apollo program from the disaster of Apollo 1 to humanity’s ultimate triumph. This immersive account details the journey of those who contributed to the Apollo 11 mission. The final secrets of Apollo 11 are revealed, bringing to life the last stages of a program that embraced tragic setbacks and historic success.

Additional content dedicated to National Geographic’s Space Month includes Mars: Inside Spacex at 13:00 on 7 July. The special goes inside SpaceX’s plan to get humanity to Mars and provides an unprecedented glimpse into one of the world’s most revolutionary companies. Taking us behind the scenes with Elon Musk and his engineers, we get an inside look as they persevere amid both disheartening setbacks and huge triumphs.

Still on the topic of the fourth planet from the sun, Expedition Mars: Spirit and Opportunity will broadcast on 14 July at 20:50. NASA lost contact with ‘Spirit’ in 2011. Now, ‘Opportunity’, has been out of touch with Earth since June 2018. In this documentary, NASA says good bye to these two intrepid explorers of the Red Planet.

Europa — an icy moon of Jupiter 780 million kilometres away from Earth — may be our best hope for finding alien life in our solar system. Today, an innovative class of explorers and scientists is planning a trip to Europa to answer the question — could there be life? The documentary Explorer: Journey to Europa, attempts to answer this question on 21 July at 19:05. Later that evening, Challenger Disaster: The Final Mission follows the tragic story of the historic space shuttle Challenger and its crew at 20:50. The events of the days leading up to the disaster are detailed using no narration or new interviews. Instead, the story is told through journalists’ reports, rarely seen images, extensive recordings from NASA and interviews with those who were part of the one-of-a-kind mission.

With unprecedented access to NASA’s spacecraft New Horizons team, the landmark film, Mission Pluto and Beyond takes viewers inside the daring mission of reaching the last great uncharted realm of our solar system — Pluto, on 28 July at 19:05.

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