After the triumph of the Poetry Season, it seems the Beeb have done it again – the first few programmes in the Moon Season have been absolutely fascinating. But where James May on the Moon was something of a personal, emotional journey, this is much more straight – but no less interesting.

Related: Review – James May On The Moon

“We seem to have a lovely morning for a flight to the moon…” it’s great how nonchalantly amazing people can talk about amazing things. And sending man to the moon for the first time – even “just” to orbit it – is certainly amazing.

But at the time, perhaps those involved in the mission had to play down its importance just to get the job done. In hindsight, speaking to camera in 2009, they’re a little more open. One astronaut says that he thought they had a “one in three chance” of not coming back, and the wife of another admits that she thought it would take a “miracle” for the mission to be the success they hoped it would be.

There are some nice insights here from the astronauts themselves – including the usually rather reclusive Neil Armstrong – particularly this delightful comment about the Apollo 8 mission: “While we were trained to go to the moon, and learn about the moon, what we actually discovered was what our own planet really means.”

And great footage too, including news reports, take-off footage, even a brief clip of the Apollo 11 team having their last breakfast before jetting off. And of course, those scenes from the lunar surface that will be played and replayed over the next few months… not that I get bored of seeing them. I mean, there were communications problems, issues with the fuel (not enough), and a lot of improvisation, but they did it. (Yes they did, naysayers.)

This programme is better than the usual moon landings doc thanks to the calibre of the talking heads, but the ground covered is quite familiar. So in fact it might actually be the second part which is the more fascinating, as we hear about the later moon missions, and more about the tragedy which has tempered NASA’s triumphs.