Forty years ago, Neil Armstrong’s historic “one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind” comment as he stepped from the LEM onto the moon’s surface was watched by more than 600 million people (one fifth of mankind at the time).  Humankind almost didn’t see this historic event. Here is the unbelievable footage, recently restored by NASA of that moment in time, July 20, 1969.

In the year 2000, an Australian film company produced the film, The Dish, one of Australia’s most popular films based on the true story of events that occurred during the days leading up to Apollo 11’s lunar landing.

The television images that we have of this event were transmitted from the moon to the Parkes Radio Telescope in Parkes, Australia.  Here is what the film is about.  You might also want to watch the trailer of the film.

Based on a true story, The Dish recounts the emotions, drama and humor behind the four-day Apollo XI mission in July 1969 and the extraordinary role that Australia played in televising the historical lunar landing to the world.

The Dish: The radio telescope at the Parkes Observatory, Australia

Inauspiciously located on a remote sheep farm in the rural town of Parkes, New South Wales, Australia, The Dish is a mammoth, 1000-ton radio telescope equal in size to a football field. In 1969, NASA intended to use the Australian telescope, the most powerful receiving dish in the Southern Hemisphere, as a “back-up” to its prime receiver in Goldstone, California. But a last-minute change in the Apollo XI flight schedule change rendered the Goldstone telescopes ineffective, and the Aussie dish became NASA’s only hope for conveying to the world man’s first steps on the moon.

View the film's trailer

But technical difficulties threaten to disrupt the scientists’ bid for glory: hours before Apollo XI is scheduled to land on the moon, disaster strikes at the Parkes dish when our earth-bound crew loses contact with the Apollo XI spacecraft during a power outage. Scrambling to restore contact with the Apollo XI, the dish technicians launch an exhaustive effort to relocate the spacecraft in time to broadcast images of Neil Armstrong’s landmark lunar trek to the world. With help from the colorful cast of local characters, the dish team and their American counterpart struggle to overcome a series of mishaps – including a freak windstorm that threatens the lives of the crew – and play their part in one of mankind’s greatest achievements in an exciting, emotional and truly funny way.

If you want to experience what it was like 40 years ago in a small Australian town that played a huge role in NASA’s historic day, then I recommend that you obtain a copy of The Dish, and watch it on July 20th.  My wife and I first saw this film on a Delta flight, and soon after purchased a copy of it on DVD.  We’ve watched this film at least 50 times since we purchased it.  Really.  I plan to watch it on the 20th of July, the 40th anniversary of our first lunar landing.

Resources:

• The Dish on Amazon
• Live from the Moon: 40th Anniversary of Apollo 11: A Podcast from Australia
• Time to Boldly Go Once More by Buzz Aldrin, July 16, 2009–Article in the Washington Post
• Apollo 11 Restoration Videos from NASA
• 40 Years ago, were you watching Apollo 11 (NPR)