In the summer of ‘69 when McCartney was singing about coming together and computers still took up half an acre, NASA landed a man on the moon. It’s still one of humanity’s biggest achievements, though we haven’t been back since ‘72 — it’s a work in progress.  

In the meantime, filmmakers have mined Project Apollo for inspiration, giving us documentaries like Al Reinert’s For All Mankind and more recently Apollo 11 from Todd Douglas Miller. Yet, it’s always Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin who dominate; they were first, after all. 

Director Mark Craig takes a different approach after 2014’s Last Man On The Moon, zeroing in on three astronauts who aren’t household names: Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee; the crew of Apollo 1. 

With only a slim 90 minutes to get us up to speed before launch, Craig’s work is as much about time management as crafting an engaging story. It’s an uphill battle, won only by his deftness in the editing room and real class in striking an emotional chord by way of archive footage and family interviews. 

Apollo-area astronauts are notoriously hard to demythologise, too. Each is a titanic example of bravery, fearlessness, and extreme motivation, qualities most can’t relate to. In an attempt to connect with the crew as people, Craig gives each man his time as the film’s star. 

On one hand, we have Grissom, White, and Chaffee performing feats of tremendous courage, like America’s first space walk or space-related near-death experiences. On the other hand, their pre-NASA suburban lives give an opportunity to admire them for different, more grounded reasons. 

It’s all in a bid to perform some narrative magic. The fate of Apollo 1 is no mystery: none of the crew appear in present-day interviews, which feature many legendary moonwalkers and NASA crew members. So, Craig doesn’t hinge our engagement on guessing what might happen, instead banking on earning our reverence for Grissom, White, and Chaffee to power a final, terrible revelation – for those who know, it remains strikingly impactful. 

With impressive access to the astronauts’ families, moonwalkers, and NASA crew, Director Mark Craig elevates your run of the mill Apollo documentary to new, more emotionally resonant heights. With most eyes fixed on the future of spaceflight, he gives voice to those that paved the way almost sixty years ago. It’s time to reprint those history books.

Apollo 1: Destination Moon is available to stream now on Channel 4.