Joint Archives Contributes to Film “Chasing the Moon”

Chasing the Moon poster image

We are over the moon knowing that the Joint Archives of Holland contributed archival materials to a new three-part, six hour film that will debut on local PBS stations July 8, 2019. Last February we were contacted for information about astronaut Col. Frank Borman’s visit to Hope College on February 19, 1970 to present at a special convocation presentation where he received an honorary Doctor of Science degree. “Chasing the Moon,” a film by Robert Stone, reimagines the race to the moon for a new generation, upending much of the conventional mythology surrounding the effort. The series recasts the Space Age as a fascinating stew of scientific innovation, political calculation, media spectacle, visionary impulses and personal drama. Utilizing a visual feast of previously overlooked and lost archival material — much of which has never before been seen by the public — the film features a diverse cast of characters who played key roles in these historic events. Among those included are astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Frank Borman and Bill Anders; Sergei Khrushchev, son of the former Soviet premier and a leading Soviet rocket engineer; Poppy Northcutt, a 25-year old “mathematics whiz” who gained worldwide attention as the first woman to serve in the all-male bastion of NASA’s Mission Control; and Ed Dwight, the Air Force pilot selected by the Kennedy administration to train as America’s first black astronaut.