Fly me to The Moon

Total solar eclipses, like the one seen last month in North America, allow us to see details of the Sun that can't be seen at any other time. So, this month, The Sky at Night team looks at how scientists are creating eclipses on demand and discovering the secrets that can be revealed hidden in that starlight, including habitable planets like our own.

In 2009, NASA celebrates the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing. This documentary series offers audiences a unique chance to glimpse an astronaut's view of space flight. It is an epic story of heroes and their breathtaking successes as they further humanity's innate desire to explore.

The tragic launch rehearsal that nearly ended the Apollo Moon Program. The Mir Space Station collision of 1997. The re-entry failure of Space Shuttle Columbia. Each NASA and Soviet space mission is a high-stakes project with an ever-present risk of failure. This series pays tribute to the bold men and women who put their lives on the line in order to get a foothold in the heavens…sometimes with spectacularly disastrous results. We also show how the close calls and catastrophes of our past paved the way for the breakthroughs of today.

Ever since autos have run the roads, inventors have been dreaming of ways to get them up in the air. In the last 100 years, some 300 flying car designs have actually made it off the ground, but none have commercially taken off…not yet anyway. This two-part series explores the turbulent history of the road-to-air vehicle, from early failures to recent breakthroughs in technology and design. Discover how the futuristic world of flying cars is becoming a reality, and explore how this new world of travel may bring a new world of obstacles.