BTN: The Moon landing

Shot of the Moon Falling into the shadow of the Earth from space. Archival black-and-white footage of Neil Armstrong descending the ladder of the Apollo 11 Lunar Module onto the surface of the Moon.

NEIL ARMSTRONG:

(Over radio) It's one small step for man... one giant leap for mankind.

Shots of astronauts walking on the surface of the Moon, on which a US flag flies. Sarah Larsen, reporter for ABC's Behind The News, stands before an image of a silvery full moon.

SARAH LARSEN:

It's a phrase we'll never forget, from one of humanity's biggest adventures. People had dreamed of going to the Moon for a long time, but actually landing on it! To many, that was pure science fiction. But then, in 1957, Russia amazed everyone by launching a satellite called Sputnik into orbit. The United States didn't want to be outdone and the two countries began a race into space.

Black-and-white footage of former US president John F. Kennedy addressing Congress. Text on screen - 'Behind The News. John F. Kennedy, US President.'

JOHN F. KENNEDY:

I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth.

Archival footage of rockets failing to launch and exploding.

SARAH LARSEN:

But just getting off the ground was dangerous enough.

SONG:

# I wanted to be a spaceman // That's what I wanted to be. #

SARAH LARSEN:

Going to the Moon was a lot more complicated than going into orbit. For that you only had to go a few hundred kilometres. The Moon is more than 300,000km away. Then they had to land safely, turn around and come back.

Black-and-white shot of Sarah Larsen dressed in a chequered 1960's style dress, standing at a bank of retro computers.

SARAH LARSEN:

Most people didn't even have televisions, let alone PCs. The only computers were huge, cost a fortune, and had about as much computing power as today's calculators. The guys at NASA had to do a lot of the calculations themselves. Astronauts put their lives on the line.

Colour archival footage of astronauts in space suits arriving at an Apollo launch pad. A large crowd is heard applauding.

SARAH LARSEN:

July 16, 1969. They were finally ready. Three astronauts called Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin took off on a mission called Apollo 11.

Apollo 11 launches. A crowd watches intently as it shoots off into the sky.

SARAH LARSEN:

It took three days to get there. Then Buzz and Neil landed in a Lunar Module while Michael stayed in the Command Module. NASA Control and the world held their breath. And then...

Archival footage of the Lunar Module touching down on the Moon.

NEIL ARMSTRONG:

(Speaks indistinctly over radio) The Eagle has landed.

The technicians at NASA control cheer.

NASA CONTROL:

Tranquility, we copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. We're breathing again. Thanks a lot.

SARAH LARSEN:

Australia had its own important role to play. The signals from the Moon were received by tracking stations at Honeysuckle Creek outside of Canberra and Parkes in New South Wales. Since the Moon landing, all sorts of other stuff has been done in space, but no-one's been back to the Moon since the '70s.

Archival footage of an astronaut bounding across the desert landscape of the moon, singing over the radio.

ASTRONAUT 1:

# I was strolling on the Moon one day // In the merry, merry month of... December. #

ASTRONAUT 2:

No, May!

ASTRONAUT 1:

# May! #

SARAH LARSEN:

That could soon change. The US is planning to send people back to the Moon by 2020. One reason is to practise for longer missions to Mars. There's even the possibility of building a colony up there. Not everyone thinks it's a good idea. Some say it's a waste of money when there are problems on Earth that need fixing. But whatever happens, it's unlikely we'll ever forget the first time we saw our home from another world and left a footprint on the Moon.