Apollo 18

There's just a lot

at stake here, you know?

We're talkin' nation

versus nation,

and the race is still on.

There's lots to discover

out there, man.

I guess the call came in

on a Friday.

Nate and I were

at Ben's for a barbecue.

Um... Just a few beers,

you know, maybe more than a few.

With Ben's cooking,

you definitely need a few.

Nate took the call.

It was Milton,

and Milton said

but it was classified,

DOD, top secret.

Asked, you know,

"Are you OK with that?"

And he was like,

"Are you kidding me?"

I come from a family

of military pilots.

Duty can sometimes

outbalance a private life.

Make choices,

keep moving forward.

NASA already has something

like 800 pounds of rocks.

So why we need more, I don't know, but,

hey, if it means a trip to the moon...

Placing cameras. We got these

Westinghouses all over the place.

Well, I think the way it's being

explained is they're using

a Saturn V to launch

a classified DOD payload, uh,

which is meant to be very large,

very heavy, and, uh...

...apparently unmanned.

Apparently.

Placing these

high-frequency transmitters.

Part of some early warning

antimissile defense system

against the Soviet Union.

These PSD5s are kind of like

high-tech radar scanners,

they should pick up and track

anything we can't.

Gotta keep a little eye

on the Russians, there.

Would've been nice

to tell my wife.

Laura had been by my side

the whole time, and, uh...

...she thinks I'm off doing a training

exercise with the Japanese space agency.

Ryan, my boy, would've been nice to tell

him his old man's goin' to the moon.

I would've loved to have

brought him a souvenir.

Maybe a moon rock.

I don't know. Maybe one day.

Ban was always first in class,

and I was always right at his heels.

Yeah, I'll admit, I'm a little jealous

that he'll be moon-walkin' with Nate

while I'll be all by my

lonesome, piloting the orbiter.

My job is, essentially, to make

sure I bring us home safely.

Look, let's face it, these

missions are result-oriented,

and, uh, we can't afford

to fail here, now can we?

Things can go wrong,

things do go wrong, it happens,

but you just gotta push

that out of your mind.

It's just not an option.

I'm proud to do it

for these guys.

And I'm proud to do it

for my country.

T- minus

ten, nine, eight, seven,

six, five, four, three...

...two, one.

Apollo 18, you're looking good.

Christmas lights.

- Bring any Christmas lights, Ben?

- Nope, not me.

You ever see anything

like that before?

No, sir.

It's amazing.

Earth in all her glory.

That's a good-lookin' boy.

You sure he's yours?

Watch it. He's a good kid.

He's got big shoes to fill now.

Big ol' moon boots.

So, Nate, you wait all this time

to put your foot on the moon,

and you get to be number 13.

How you feel about that?

You gonna be OK

with staying behind, John?

Oh, you know, it'd be nice

to have some alone time.

It's gettin' crowded in here.

I'll keep a light on for you,

boys. Don't stay out too late now.

See you in

a couple of days, partner.

Roger that.

See you in a couple days.

Houston, this is Freedom

preparing to undock Liberty. Over.

OK, 18, you're

go for undock in four minutes.

John, is the tunnel vented?

Roger that. Tunnel is vented.

OK, Liberty,

we're ready to send you

an updated state vector and REFSMMAT.

Roger, Houston. We're pooling

data. Computer is all yours.

Wish you were

comin' with us, John.

Now, you boys

be careful down there.

You, too, buddy.

Got a good visual on you.

OK, 18, you are go for landing.

We're go for the moon!

Fourteen hundred feet.

Forty-four down, lookin' good.

Down to a thousand feet.

We're right on profile.

Fifty-four LPD. Dropping off

Seven hundred feet.

Down 20. Looking good.

Mission Elapsed Time: four days,

six hours, 33 minutes.

Roger.

Leveling off Take her down.

- Gonna have to land long.

- Where?

Over that next crater.

Twelve o'clock.

Next to the rim.

It's a pretty rocky area. Mark it.

Four hundred and 30 feet.

Down 15, 25 forward.

Houston, we have

a program alarm. Twelve-oh-one.

You are go

on the twelve-oh-one, Liberty.

Roger. Go twelve-oh-one.

Liberty,

position vector mark one-eight.

Watch those suppression boosters.

You wanna think

about revisiting that approach?

Negative, we'll miss our window.

Those boulders are some big mothers.

Sub boosters

on my three, two, one, mark.

- Liberty status?

- We're comin' in too fast.

Liberty, you stabilize.

Liberty to Houston,

range is long. Going manual.

- Contact light.

- Standby for T1 stay/no stay.

- Engine arm off.

- Stay for T1, Liberty.

Houston,

you give that man a cigar.

From up here,

that looked very pretty.

Excellent touchdown.

Oh, are you talkin' to me or Nate?

Well, I'm talking

to you both, Ben.

December 25th, 1974.

four days, nine hours,

Commander Nathan Walker.

DOD Mission Report One-A.

We're day one of our two-day mission.

Prepping for EVA-One and payload setup.

This is Thomas Young

at Apollo Mission Control.

In addition to the Mauer

- this mission will mark...

- Looks like five reels,

- 10,000 feet Kodachrome.

- The RCA module

data acquisition cameras

inside the lunar module

record all facets of the mission.

Houston, we are

prepped for EVA-One.

Copy, Liberty.

You are go for cabin depress.

Button up good, boys. We don't

want anyone catching cold.

Roger that.

Can you check me over?

It'd help if you

were a little smaller.

- Check my PLSS.

- Yup.

Houston...

...we're taking our first steps

on the south pole.

I prepared a speech, but no one

but us would hear it anyway.

No words can describe

how it feels to be here.

Rock formations everywhere.

The sun is low, on the horizon.

it's amazing.

Freedom, do you read?

...do you read?

Freedom reads you loud

and clear, Liberty. Over.

Yeah, yeah. Perfect.

You call that a salute?

OK, let me get a shot of you

with the LM in the background.

That looks like a Navy salute to me.

Wait a minute, wait a minute.

I gotta get this.

Promised Laura and Ryan

I'd spend Christmas with them.

This is all goin' back

to the Department of Defense.

No one's ever gonna...

Completing Westinghouse setup.

Sounds good, Nate.

Standing by.

Motion sensor is tracking

you perfectly, Nate.

Captain Video says first round

is on him when you get back.

I'm checking

the payload in the MESA unit.

Sh*t!

What was that?

Houston, can you track

that power flux?

I'd like to get a fix

on the interference.

Roger, Nate. Looks like you're

ready to proceed to location one

- and initiate setup procedures.

- Copy. We're on our way.

Will you take a look at that?

It makes you think, doesn't it?

Damn, it's dusty.

I'm leaving the camera up here

so you can get a better view, Tommy.

And for your information,

we're about three hours

and 20 minutes...

it's hard to believe the sun never

shines in some of these places. Ever.

Careful, now, fellas.

You drop into any of those craters,

you'll get cold in a hurry.

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