Part one of a two-part series on the subject of man in space, NOVA examines the history of NASA - from the origin of the space race through the triumph of the Apollo programs. By tracing the history of three key programs - Mercury, Gemini, Apollo - we show how the basic challenges surrounding space flight were answered: rendezvous and docking, life support, weightlessness, space sickness, equipment reliability and so on.
Seen in more than 100 countries, NOVA is the most watched science based television series in the world and the most watched documentary series on PBS. It is also one of television's most acclaimed series, having won many major television awards, most of them many times over.