13 Minutes to the Moon

Why everyone wants to get back to the moon - a special episode with Kevin Fong. The United States has just returned to the moon for the first time in 50 years. But they are not the only country in the world with their sights set on space exploration. Why are countries like India, China, Japan and Saudi Arabia trying to complete their own lunar landings? Katya Adler speaks with Kevin Fong and Jonathan Amos, the BBC’s science correspondent. To hear more episodes, search for The Global Story, wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

News about the next season and our live episode recording at The Podcast Show 2023 in London. What would you like to ask space shuttle astronaut and engineer Kay Hire? Kay became the 34th woman to fly in space when she flew as a mission specialist aboard Space Shuttle Columbia. She returned to orbit aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour. What questions do you have for her about the space shuttle, or perhaps the plans to return to the Moon and even reach Mars? You can submit your question via our website: www.bbcworldservice.com/13minutes #13MinutestotheMoon

“I still have nightmares about this.” Can the crew survive the dangers of re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere? An error could see them either incinerated or becoming lost forever in deep space. #13MinutestotheMoon For more Apollo films and photos: www.bbcworldservice.com/13minutes Presented by Kevin Fong. Archive: Nasa Starring Jim Lovell John Aaron Dave Reed Hal Loden Jerry Bostick Jim Kelly Fred Haise Charlie Duke Joe Kerwin Gene Kranz, courtesy of the Johnson Space Center Oral History Project Chuck Deiterich Marilyn Lovell Gerry Griffin Written by Kevin Fong and Andrew Luck-Baker Theme music by Hans Zimmer and Christian Lundberg for Bleeding Fingers Music BBC Radio Science Unit for the BBC World Service

Special episode with Nasa legend, flight controller John Aaron. This extended interview ranges from John first learning about the explosion, to his doubts and fears during Apollo 13¹s descent through the Earth¹s atmosphere. #13MinutestotheMoon Theme music by Hans Zimmer and Christian Lundberg for Bleeding Fingers Music

Special episode with Apollo 13 Commander Jim Lovell. An extended interview. The true space pioneer talks to Kevin Fong about everything from the shocking moment of the explosion to the enormous relief of the splashdown. #13MinutestotheMoon Theme music by Hans Zimmer and Christian Lundberg for Bleeding Fingers Music

The crew are off course, 200,000 miles from home and without a guidance computer. Their lives now depend on their flying skills - and Jim Lovell’s wristwatch. #13MinutestotheMoon For more Apollo films and photos: www.bbcworldservice.com/13minutes Presented by Kevin Fong. Archive: Nasa Starring Chuck Deiterich Jim Lovell Poppy Northcutt Fred Haise Jim Kelly John Aaron Joe Kerwin Written by Kevin Fong and Chris Browning Theme music by Hans Zimmer and Christian Lundberg for Bleeding Fingers Music BBC Radio Science Unit for the BBC World Service

“We were being poisoned by our own exhalation.” Carbon dioxide threatens to kill the crew. Mission control must improvise as the most fragile system of all is under threat: the astronauts themselves. #13MinutestotheMoon For a film about how the crew made the makeshift CO2 adaptors: www.bbcworldservice.com/13minutes Presented by Kevin Fong. Archive: Nasa Starring: Jim Lovell Merlin Merritt Anthony England Ed Smylie, courtesy of the Johnson Space Center Oral History Project Fred Haise Marilyn Lovell Ken Mattingly Charles A Berry Joe Kerwin Gerry Griffin Written by Kevin Fong and Chris Browning Theme music by Hans Zimmer and Christian Lundberg for Bleeding Fingers Music BBC Radio Science Unit for the BBC World Service

Power must be brutally rationed after the crew fly around the Moon. As systems are switched off, their cold, dark ship is reduced to little more than a husk coasting in space. #13MinutestotheMoon Watch videos about the Apollo 13 mission: www.bbcworldservice.com/13minutes Presented by Kevin Fong. Archive: Nasa Starring: Gerry Griffin Jim Kelly Gene Kranz, courtesy of the Johnson Space Center Oral History Project John Aaron Jim Lovell Fred Haise Dave Reed Jerry Bostick Chuck Deiterich Merlin Merritt Bill Peters Written by Kevin Fong and Mark Rickards Theme music by Hans Zimmer and Christian Lundberg for Bleeding Fingers Music BBC Radio Science Unit for the BBC World Service

The astronauts are fighting for their lives. As the oxygen level plummets, they must escape to the lunar lander. It's a desperate act of survival for which the crew has never trained. #13MinutestotheMoon See our film about the Lovell family: www.bbcworldservice.com/13minutes Presented by Kevin Fong. Archive: Nasa Starring: Glynn Lunney Ken Mattingly (courtesy of the Johnson Space Center Oral History Project) Merlin Merritt Jim Lovell John Aaron Fred Haise John Devaney Jerry Bostick Poppy Northcutt George Kalan Dave Reed Chuck Deiterich Marilyn Lovell Susan Lovell Jay Lovell Written by Kevin Fong and Mark Rickards Theme music by Hans Zimmer and Christian Lundberg for Bleeding Fingers Music BBC Radio Science Unit for the BBC World Service

“We were in deep, deep trouble.” This is Mission Control like you’ve never heard it before. After the explosion, denial and disbelief turn to dread. #13MinutestotheMoon Watch our videos: www.bbcworldservice.com/13minutes Presented by Kevin Fong. Archive: Nasa Starring: Jim Lovell Jack Lousma Gene Kranz, courtesy of the Johnson Space Center Oral History Project Sy Liebergot Bob Heselmeyer, courtesy of the Johnson Space Center Oral History Project Fred Haise John Aaron Marilyn Lovell Written by Kevin Fong and Andrew Luck-Baker Theme music by Hans Zimmer and Christian Lundberg for Bleeding Fingers Music BBC Radio Science Unit for the BBC World Service

“Houston, we’ve had a problem.” To ignite catastrophe would take just the flick of a single switch. Why NASA’s third bid to land on the Moon was flawed from the start.#13MinutestotheMoon For videos and more space stories: www.bbcworldservice.com/13minutes Presented by Kevin Fong Archive: NASA and CBS Starring: Jim Lovell Marilyn Lovell Fred Haise John Aaron Gerry Griffin Gene Kranz, courtesy of the Johnson Space Center Oral History Project Charlie Duke Jay Lovell Sy Liebergot Jack Lousma Written by Kevin Fong and Andrew Luck-Baker Theme music by Hans Zimmer and Christian Lundberg for Bleeding Fingers Music BBC Radio Science Unit for the BBC World Service This episode was updated on 16 March 2020.

Jump on board a doomed mission to the Moon. Apollo 13: the extraordinary story, told by the people who flew it and saved it. Lift off is on 9 March. #13MinutestotheMoon Presenter: Kevin Fong Written by Kevin Fong and Andrew Luck-Baker Theme music by Hans Zimmer and Christian Lundberg for Bleeding Fingers Music

Hans Zimmer in a special episode about creating the 13 Minutes to the Moon theme music. The Oscar and Grammy-winning composer talks music, space and the importance of knowing how to make a really good cup of coffee. He says, “All we are doing with the music is we’re opening the door a little crack and saying ‘OK, now let your imagination run free’”. With Kevin Fong. Theme music by Hans Zimmer for Bleeding Fingers Music. #13MinutestotheMoon www.bbcworldservice.com/13minutes

“We choose to go.” The season finale comes from where President John F Kennedy made his famous Moon speech to rally the US behind the Apollo programme. The venue is Rice University in Houston, where we reflect on one of the greatest achievements in human history. And we consider a future return to the moon. With Kevin Fong. Starring: John Aaron Gerry Griffin Walt Cunningham Peggy Whitson Theme music by Hans Zimmer for Bleeding Fingers Music #13MinutestotheMoon www.bbcworldservice.com/13minutes This episode is being released 50 years after the first moon landing.

History as it happened, uninterrupted: every word, every crackle, the tension and triumph. Hear how Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to reach the Moon. This is NASA’s archive recording of Capcom Charlie Duke’s communications loop from 20 July 1969. #13MinutestotheMoon

History as it happened, explained. Kevin Fong guides us through the descent to the Moon from start to finish, using Capcom Charlie Duke’s communications loop, from NASA’s archive. And we hear memories and reflections on Apollo 11 from: Charlie Duke Poppy Northcutt John Aaron Jim Lovell Margaret Hamilton George Abbey Michael Collins Bill Carpentier Theme music by Hans Zimmer for Bleeding Fingers Music #13MinutestotheMoon www.bbcworldservice.com/13minutes

We are five and a half minutes to the moon. Tension goes “through the roof”. Neil Armstrong takes control and the fuel starts to run out. In Mission Control, flight controllers count down to 60 seconds of fuel remaining – and then 30 seconds… With Kevin Fong. Starring: Steve Bales Charlie Duke Gerry Griffin Courtesy of the Johnson Space Center Oral History Project: Neil Armstrong Gene Kranz Jack Garman Bob Carlton Theme music by Hans Zimmer for Bleeding Fingers Music #13MinutestotheMoon www.bbcworldservice.com/13minutes

The 13 minutes begin. Eagle is going too fast. There are communications problems. We have met the people and heard about the Apollo 11 technology, now the descent is underway. This is the full story and it is a leap into the unknown. With Kevin Fong. Starring: Charlie Duke Steve Bales Don Eyles Courtesy of the Johnson Space Center Oral History Project: Neil Armstrong Gene Kranz Jay Greene Jack Garman Bob Carlton Theme music by Hans Zimmer for Bleeding Fingers Music #13MinutestotheMoon www.bbcworldservice.com/13minutes

Without the astronaut who didn’t step on the moon, Apollo 11 wouldn’t have succeeded. As Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made their historic landing, Michael Collins was in lunar orbit, playing a crucial role on the mothership. This is his story, with Kevin Fong. Starring: Michael Collins Theme music by Hans Zimmer for Bleeding Fingers Music #13MinutestotheMoon www.bbcworldservice.com/13minutes

War, riots, assassinations: “the year that shattered America”. And then NASA took the biggest risk in its history. There was the Vietnam War and the murders of Martin Luther King and Robert F Kennedy but with Apollo 8, astronauts went further from Earth than anyone had gone before and changed the way we look at our home forever. With Kevin Fong. Starring: John Aaron Bill Anders Frank Borman Jerry Bostick Michael Collins Jim Lovell Poppy Northcutt Katherine Johnson courtesy of WHRO Chris Kraft courtesy of the Johnson Space Center Oral History Project Theme music by Hans Zimmer for Bleeding Fingers Music #13MinutestotheMoon www.bbcworldservice.com/13minutes This episode was updated on 19 June 2019.

The computer that got us to the moon. The size of a briefcase, there had never been anything like it. Apollo 11 was “the first time software ran on the moon”. This is the story of the world’s first digital portable general purpose computer. The work of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT, helped give rise to the digital age. With Kevin Fong. Starring: Ramon Alonso Elaine Denniston Charlie Duke Don Eyles Eldon Hall Margaret Hamilton Dan Lickly Theme music by Hans Zimmer for Bleeding Fingers Music #13MinutestotheMoon www.bbcworldservice.com/13minutes

"You heard ‘fire’. Then you heard a scream." The Apollo 1 tragedy and what happened 21 months later – Apollo’s first successful manned mission into Earth’s orbit. With Kevin Fong. Starring: George Abbey Walt Cunningham Glynn Lunney Gerry Griffin John Aaron Jerry Bostick Courtesy of the Johnson Space Center Oral History Project: Chris Kraft Gene Kranz Wally Schirra George Jeffs Courtesy of CBS News: Gus Grissom Ed White Roger Chaffee Theme music by Hans Zimmer for Bleeding Fingers Music #13MinutestotheMoon www.bbcworldservice.com/13minutes

Ugly, angry, with four legs and wrapped in gold: it was a spacecraft like nothing on Earth. The story of Grumman’s lunar module, with Kevin Fong. Starring: Charlie Duke Dick Dunne John Devaney Alan Contessa Neil Armstrong courtesy of the Johnson Space Center Oral History Project Tom Kelly courtesy of the MIT Museum Collections Theme music by Hans Zimmer for Bleeding Fingers Music #13MinutestotheMoon www.bbcworldservice.com/13minutes

The unsung heroes who saved the day. "Here’s some 26-year-old kid, who could stop the lunar mission." An alarm appears on the on-board computer, but what does it mean? With Kevin Fong. Starring: Steve Bales Charlie Duke John Aaron Glynn Lunney Gerry Griffin Jerry Bostick Gene Kranz courtesy of the Johnson Space Center History Office Theme music by Hans Zimmer for Bleeding Fingers Music #13MinutestotheMoon www.bbcworldservice.com/13minutes

With no idea how to get there, the race to the moon begins – "we intend to win". To understand how the story ends, we need to start at the very beginning. With Kevin Fong. Starring: Michael Collins Steve Bales Margaret Hamilton Jim Lovell Charlie Duke Theme music by Hans Zimmer for Bleeding Fingers Music #13MinutestotheMoon www.bbcworldservice.com/13minutes This episode was updated on 14 May 2019.

The final part of our audio countdown to the launch of 13 Minutes to the Moon, with Kevin Fong. Lift off is on 13 May 2019.

Hans Zimmer has composed the 13 Minutes to the Moon theme music. It is the first time the Grammy and Academy Award winner has created music for a podcast.

Introducing 13 Minutes to the Moon, with Apollo 7 astronaut Walt Cunningham and former Apollo engineer Poppy Northcutt - the first woman to work as an engineer in an operational support role in NASA's Mission Control.

The countdown begins. The story of Apollo 11 – coming soon.