Apollo 11 (film) continue their lead in the Space Race and be the first to put a man on the moon, NASA felt an enormous pressure to push the Apollo Program forward as quickly as possible, though they knew that pushing too hard could lead to the ultimate disaster. This film recreates the tensions that were felt not only by the three astronauts, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins, but also by their families and by the teams of technicians training to deal with anything that could go wrong. The film was released on Sunday, November 17, 1996 on The Family Channel
Buzz Aldrin that he thought Aldrin "resents not being first on the moon more than he appreciates being second." Aldrin and Armstrong did not have time to perform much geological training. The first lunar landing focused more on landing on the Moon and making it safely back to Earth than the scientific aspects of the mission. The duo were briefed by NASA and USGS geologists. They made one geological training expedition to west Texas. The press followed them, and a helicopter made it hard for Aldrin and Armstrong to hear their instructor. An estimated one million spectators watched the launch of Apollo