The space race was always going to be won by filmmakers and science-fiction writers.
Jules Verne penned “From the Earth to the Moon” in 1865 prophesying three U.S. astronauts rocketing from Florida to the moon. George Melies’ 1902 silent classic “A Trip to the Moon” had a rocket ship landing in the eye of the man in the moon. Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” came out the year before Neil Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface.
Still, the moon landing was a giant leap not just for mankind but for filmmaking. The astronauts on board Apollo 11 carried multiple film cameras with them.
Even so, some conspiracy theorists claimed it was a movie: another Kubrick production.
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Margaret Weitekamp sees a reciprocal relationship between filmmakers and scientists.