Get an inside look at the making of Chasing the Moon. Premieres July 8, 9/8c on PBS.

Join American Experience and PBS to relive the journey that defined a generation. “Chasing the Moon” recasts the Space Age as a fascinating stew of scientific innovation, political calculation, media spectacle, visionary impulses and personal drama, utilizing a feast of previously overlooked and lost archival material.

Michael Collins piloted the command module nicknamed the Columbia, while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon.

Join American Experience and PBS to countdown the journey that defined a generation. “Chasing the Moon” recasts the Space Age as a fascinating stew of scientific innovation, political calculation, media spectacle, visionary impulses and personal drama, utilizing a feast of previously overlooked and lost archival material.

One giant leap that changed everything. Chasing the Moon premieres across three nights, beginning July 8, 2019 on PBS.

Watch chapter 1 of Chasing the Moon.

50 years ago, the moon became a symbol of human progress. Long before we could reach its surface, the moon held special meaning for humanity. Today, the moon continues to inspire—in the night sky and in contemporary works of art. Learn how—from sidewalk astronomer Jupiter Joe Martinez, contemporary artist Luke Jerram and author Alexandra Loske.

African American civil rights activists in Huntsville, Alabama formed a “psychological warfare committee” to outsmart white supremacists and force the Rocket City to desegregate.

In 1967, the US, the UK and the Soviet Union signed a treaty that laid out the framework for law in space. Nearly fifty years later, as companies work towards commercial space travel and asteroid mining, those laws will be put to the test.

Most remember the space race of the 1960s as a moment of rare national unity around the cause of scientific exploration. Public opinion polls from the 1960s show that the majority of Americans approved of Project Apollo, but the nation was deeply divided over the cost of the program. To win the space race, NASA would have to market the moon to the American public.

Watch Chapter 1 of Stonewall Uprising.

Watch Chapter 1 of Emma Goldman.

Ed Dwight Jr. was the first African American to be trained as an astronaut. In 1962, Dwight was selected for astronaut training at the urging of the Kennedy Administration.

She was the toast of Victorian London, New York, and Paris. She was "adopted" by Indian chief Sitting Bull, charmed the Prince of Prussia, and entertained the likes of Oscar Wilde and Queen Victoria. Annie Oakley excelled in a man's world by doing what she loved, and won fame and fortune as the little lady from Ohio who never missed a shot.

For nearly half a century, Russian emigrant Emma Goldman was the most controversial woman in America, taunting the mainstream with her fervent attacks on government, big business, and war.

The first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic, Amelia Earhart was one of America's first celebrities. After only a few years as a pilot she became the best-known female flier in America, not only for her daring and determination but also for her striking looks and outspoken personality. Three weeks before her 40th birthday Earhart disappeared over the Pacific Ocean, and her story became legend.

Watch Chapter 1 of Amelia Earhart.

In August 1969, nearly half a million people gathered at a farm in upstate New York to hear music. What happened over the next three days, however, was far more than a concert.

Valerie Hoard married William Anders in 1955. In 1968, Bill Anders was one of three astronauts aboard the Apollo 8.

Go behind the scenes with the production team to get a sneak peak of Chasing the Moon, a film by Robert Stone coming to PBS this Summer.