James May on the Moon

James May on the Moon
Sunday 21st June BBC2, 21:00

As part of a season of programming on BBC Two and BBC Four to celebrate 40 years since the first moon landing, James May takes a "giant leap" into space history to discover the stories of the heroes behind this auspicious historical event.

In James May On The Moon, the BBC's Top Gear presenter learns to use an astronaut's space suit as he trains for three days with the United States Air Force before travelling to the edge of space in a U2 spy plane. At 70,000 feet, James looks up into the blackness of space and down at the thin blue atmosphere beneath him, an experience that he says "changed his life".

It may only be a small leap into space for James, but it helps him to understand the achievements of the Apollo astronauts. Along the way he meets some of the men who went to the moon, experiences zero gravity and endures the force of a Saturn V rocket launch in a centrifuge.

Watch the preview on You Tube here

For further details please visit the programme page.

James May at the Edge of Space
Sunday 21st June BBC4, 22:00
James May always wanted to be an astronaut. Now, 40 years after the first Apollo landings, he gets a chance to fly to the edge of space in a U2 spy plane. But first he will have to undergo three gruelling days of training with the US Air Force and learn to use a space suit to stay alive in air so thin it can kill in an instant. He discovers that during the flight there are only two people higher than him, and they are both real astronauts on the International Space Station.

For further details please visit the programme page.

Directed and Produced by Paul King
Executive Producers – Aidan Laverty and Phil Dolling
Researcher – Will Ellerby
Film Editor – Bill Coates
Photography – Tim Cragg
Sound - Adam Prescod
Production Manager – Rebecca Maidens