Grab Popcorn: Apollo Anniversary Events on NASA TV

NASA is offering opportunities for America to celebrate with the agency the 50th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 Moon mission and look to the future of exploration on the Moon and Mars.

The updated list of special programming, content, and events in which NASA is participating now includes (all times CDT unless otherwise indicated):

► Wednesday, July 17

On NASA TV
• 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. – Mission Control: Human Spaceflight (all channels)
• 9:15 a.m. – Live Interview for CNBC with NASA Astronaut Joe Acaba (all channels)
• Noon – Documentary: 1969-1989 (all channels)
• 1 and 9 p.m. – Moon 101 Series, Episode 3: The Lunar Environment (public channel)
• 3 p.m. – Documentary: Moonwalk One (all channels)
• 6 p.m. – June 1989 Crew Interviews with Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins (all channels)
• 7 p.m. – In the Shadow of the Moon (all channels)

► Thursday, July 18

On NASA TV
• 6 a.m., 1 and 9 p.m. – Moon 101 Series, Episode 4: The Crust of the Moon (public channel)
• 7 a.m. – June 1989 Crew Interviews with Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins (all channels)
• 8 a.m. – The Flight of Apollo 11 (all channels)
• 9 a.m. – Documentary: 1969-1989 (all channels)
• 3 p.m. – Documentary: For All Mankind (public channel)
• 4 p.m. – Documentary: Moonwalk One (all channels)
• 6 p.m. – In the Shadow of the Moon (all channels)

► Friday, July 19

NASA’s Giant Leaps: Past and Future
NASA’s Giant Leaps: Past and Future will air noon to 2 p.m. on NASA TV and the agency’s website, and will be simulcast on the Discovery Science Channel. Hosted from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center, the show will salute the heroes of Apollo and discuss the agency’s future plans, with segments at:

• National Mall in Washington
• NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, including the newly restored Apollo Mission Control Operations Room and Space Center Houston, Johnson’s official visitors center
• U.S. Space & Rocket Center
• Neil Armstrong’s hometown of Wapakoneta, Ohio
• The Apollo 11 command module on display at the Museum of Flight in Seattle

The show also will feature slices of Americana at other anniversary celebrations around the country.

STEM Forward to the Moon
At 2 p.m., NASA TV will air a special program, STEM Forward to the Moon, which will feature kids participating in Moon landing simulations at the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, Kansas, Saint Louis Science Center in St. Louis, Columbia Memorial Space Center in Downey, California, and Arizona Science Center in Phoenix.

NASA also will bring Apollo 50th anniversary participants together to take part in a virtual engineering design challenge on social media. Along with each of its museum partners, NASA invites the public to help build a component of NASA’s return to the Moon using simple household materials.

NASA at Nasdaq Closing Bell
At 2:50 p.m., NASA’s Chief Financial Officer Jeff DeWit and astronaut Jeanette Epps will represent the agency during the Nasdaq Stock Market closing bell ceremony in New York City. The event will be livestreamed on Nasdaq’s Facebook page.

On NASA TV
• 6 a.m. – Moon 101 Series, Episode 4: The Crust of the Moon (public channel)
• 7 a.m. – Mission Control: Human Spaceflight (all channels)
• 9 a.m. – Documentary: For All Mankind (all channels)
• Noon, 5 and 8 p.m. – NASA’s Giant Leaps: Past and Future – Celebrating Apollo 50th as We Go Forward to the Moon (all channels)
• 2 and 7 p.m. – STEM: Forward to the Moon (all channels)

► Saturday, July 20

Apollo 11 Lands, Astronauts walk on Moon
NASA TV will air original video of the 1969 Apollo 11 Moon landing and astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin taking humanity’s first steps on the Moon at the actual times these two events took place 50 years ago: 3:02 and 9:38 p.m., respectively.

Apollo 11: A Fiftieth Anniversary
NASA is collaborating with the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington and the National Symphony Orchestra Pops on a musical and visual tribute to the 1969 Moon landing. The concert, which begins at 8 p.m., will be hosted by Meredith Vieira and Adam Savage and feature appearances by singer-songwriter and producer Pharrell Williams, singer-songwriter Natasha Bedingfield, composer Michael Giacchino, actor LeVar Burton, and more.

NASA Night at Discovery Green
From 6 to 10 p.m. CDT, Downtown Houston’s Discovery Green will host a free public screening of the movie Apollo 11. The U.S. Army Golden Knights jumpers will land before the screening, in addition to a special appearance from Spacey Casey. The event will feature an appearance by NASA astronaut Steve Bowen.

On NASA TV
• 6 a.m., 1 and 9 p.m. – Moon 101 Series, Episode 4: The Crust of the Moon (public channel)
• 7 and 9 a.m. – NASA’s Giant Leaps: Past and Future - Celebrating Apollo 50th as we Go Forward to the Moon (all channels)
• 2 p.m. – Mission Control: Human Spaceflight (all channels)
• 3:02 p.m. – Historic CBS Live Broadcast of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing (public channel)
• 9:38 p.m. – Historic Apollo 11 Moonwalk (all channels)

► Sunday, July 21

On NASA TV
• 6 a.m. and 1 p.m. – Moon 101 Series, Episode 4: The Crust of the Moon (public channel)
• 7 a.m. – The Flight of Apollo 11 (all channels)
• 8 p.m. – NASA’s Giant Leaps: Past and Future - Celebrating Apollo 50th as We Go Forward to the Moon (all channels)

► Tuesday, July 23

NASA Science Live: 50 Years of Apollo
At 2 p.m., this special edition of NASA Science Live will take viewers onboard the aircraft carrier that recovered the Apollo 11 capsule after splashdown—the USS Hornet. Join experts for a behind-the-scenes tour of this historic location where President Nixon first greeted the Apollo 11 crew. Discover what it takes to reenter Earth’s atmosphere and learn about the crew’s journey back to Earth. Splashdown may have been the conclusion of the crew’s mission, but it was just the beginning for the science. Hear from experts about what we learned from the Apollo missions, what we’re still uncovering today and what we hope to discover with future Artemis missions to the Moon. This episode will stream live on NASA Television, the agency’s website, Twitter Periscope, YouTube, Facebook Live and Ustream. We will take questions from the public using #askNASA.