Plot Synopsis

Using archival footage, first-person interviews, and CGI animation, this four-part documentary chronicles man's exploration of space and planetary bodies, starting with the Mercury and Gemini programs, through Apollo and Voyager, and ending with Curiosity and future missions. SPACE VOYAGES explores the first half-century of the Space Age, celebrating the triumphs, lamenting the tragedies, and learning how engineers are developing technologies to send humans off to Mars and beyond. The four one-hour episodes include: "Into the Unknown," which highlights early efforts of the US space program, like Project Gemini, showing how their technological developments help today's innovators leave orbit; "The Moon and Beyond," which documents the first attempts to transport humans into space and back, such as the Apollo missions, demonstrating how today's scientists are developing technologies to transport humans to and from Mars, asteroids, and beyond; "Open for Business," which chronicles how the race for space has transformed from a government-funded venture to one run by businesses, as corporations like Space X and Virgin Galactic build their own rockets, spaceflight vehicles, satellites, and rovers; and "Surviving the Void," which explores how the experiences of our first astronauts are helping engineers create new technologies so the human body withstand this 34-million-mile odyssey to Mars. This series features interviews with Jim Lovell, Gene Kranz, Chris Kraft, Jay Barbree, and many more astronauts, flight directors, NASA personnel, and space experts.