Discovery celebrates the life of the first Moonwalker, Neil Armstrong

Special programme, 'One Giant Leap: A Neil Armstrong Tribute', to air September 30 in 200 countries including India

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | September 17, 2012 

The sun set on one of mankind's greatest pioneers with the recent passing of Neil Armstrong on August 25, 2012. The Armstrong story provides a snapshot of a profoundly historic moment for the world, when groundbreaking science and technology combined with an unmatched passion for satisfying curiosity. In celebration of Armstrong's life and innumerable contributions to space exploration, Discovery Channel will air a special programme, 'One Giant Leap: A Neil Armstrong Tribute', featuring footage from Armstrong's last public appearance. The feature also offers interviews with crewmates Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins, and leverages special access to the Apollo 11 archives to take viewers through the complete journey – from initial training, to moon walk, to splashdown on Earth.

'One Giant Leap: A Neil Armstrong Tribute' will premiere on Discovery Channel on Sunday, September 30, at 8 PM. The programme will be simulcast on Discovery Science and Discovery Channel Tamil.

The one-hour show highlights the tremendous impact Armstrong made on the world and his legacy to space exploration.  Told through poignant, personal interviews with Armstrong, it also includes archived Apollo footage discovered in 2006 that may be televised for the first time as well as interviews with his Apollo 11 crew mates conducted following Armstrong's death and their perspective on the future of manned space missions.

Rahul Johri, Senior VP and General Manager – South Asia, Discovery Networks Asia Pacific, said, “Discovery Channel through this programme offers tribute to one the most iconic legends. Neil Armstrong's landmark achievement and pioneering contributions continue to inspire people all around the world.”

The special also airs across Discovery's international network portfolio in more than 200 countries around the world.

The programme showcases rare footage from NASA archives and highlights that it was the most watched television event in 1969 with over 600 million viewers around the world.

During the Moon expedition, feed of telemetry data was being sent from the Moon to three ground stations.  The data included information like astronaut's heart rate, status of the spacecraft and the raw television broadcast.

It features the iconic telephonic conversation between President Richard Nixon and the astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on that historic fateful day.

The programme takes an insiders' tour of Armstrong Air and Space Museum in the former astronaut's hometown Ohio which houses a collection of Armstrong's personal and professional memorabilia not found anywhere else. The museum preserves a plane, Aeronca Champion, that Armstrong learned to fly in. The museum also obtained one of only four F5D Skylancers that he flew as a test pilot.

This July, Armstrong had visited the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, to commission the Discovery Channel Telescope, the fifth largest in the US. This was his last public appearance.  At the age of 82, he was still very excited about space exploration way beyond the Moon.

Info@BestMediaInfo.com

Info@BestMediaInfo.com