James Burke on the Moon

Today on Far Future Horizons we continue to commemorate the forty-eighth anniversary of the Apollo Moon landing with two retrospective documentaries presented by BBC veteran science journalist and science historian James Burke ten years after the event.

James Burke, one of the main presenters of the BBC's coverage of the Apollo 11 mission, reviews its launch earlier in the day on 16 July 1969

James Burke first made his name as a reporter on the BBC science series Tomorrow's World. He was BBC television's science anchor and chief reporter on the Project Apollo missions, being the main presenter on the BBC's coverage of the first moon landings in 1969.

BBC Apollo 11 studio, with James Burke (standing), Cliff Michelmore and Patrick Moore (seated), June 1969

The two documentaries being presented today are The Men who Walked on the Moon (1979), a tenth anniversary retrospective BBC special about the Apollo 11 Moon landing and the astronauts who walked on the Moon and The Other Side of the Moon (1979), a more critical look at Apollo program.

These two video features provides us with a tantalizing look at British television’s coverage of Apollo 11 , man's first mission to land on the moon, which lasted from 16 to 24 July 1969 . All the then three UK channels BBC1, BBC2 and ITV provided extensive coverage. Most of the footage covering this historic event from a British perspective has now been either wiped or lost.

James Burke - The men who walked on the moon (1979)

James Burke - The other side of the moon (1979)

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