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It’s not every day that five of the astronauts who walked on the moon and Stephen Colbert are seen chilling in the same room, but that was the scene at the New York premiere of In the Shadow of the Moon, held at the Hayden Planetarium last week. The documentary, directed by David Sington (not Ron Howard, despite the prominent placement of his name in every poster), follows the unfolding of the Apollo missions and the men who made that pipe dream possible. Gathering together for the first time 10 of the 11 living members of the moon-bound missions (the notoriously reclusive Neil Armstrong opted out), the film describes the wholly unique shared experiences of “the only people to have been to another world.”

Once the pre-screening, red-carpet surge was through (Buzz Aldrin was a particularly popular target), the premiere was surprisingly hushed. Gasps came at the appropriate moments-during, for instance, a clip of Nixon reading a contingency speech that would be aired should the first lunar module fail to lift off the moon: “Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace.” Applause, too, when the Apollo 11 astronauts landed successfully. But mostly there was quiet as the impossible odds piled up: Here are the men with miles of paper and wood models in front of them; here they are with their lander that looks as though a gust of wind could snap it in two; here, the spacesuits scarily flimsy. To upbeat music, a snappy montage of spacecraft blowing up flashes across the screen. “At that point,” laughs Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell, “boosters were blowing up every other day at Cape Canaveral.”

“To me, it’s very difficult to explain,” Charlie Duke, the lunar-module pilot of Apollo 16, told PopSci before the screening. “It’s such a unique experience, there’s nothing we can compare it to down here.” Apollo 12 lunar-module pilot Alan Bean added, “You’re so far away from home. Your neck’s out there. You’re betting your life on this hardware.” He paused. “But it’s a lot of fun if you’re willing to take that risk.” Onscreen, the men struggle no less to describe the feeling. Their own footage, unearthed from NASA’s liquid-nitrogen-cooled archives, lends depth. We see their first shots of Earth from above, hear their disbelieving, awed laughs.

After the screening, the astronauts took a bow. Their wives joined them onstage. Standing ovations ushered them off. And then the men who had walked on the moon and the people who could only dream about such stuff shuffled out to down martinis and space food beneath some plastic models of the universe.

**For photos from the premiere and of the astronauts then and now, launch the slideshow here.

"John

05.18.1969

John Young, Apollo 10 Command Module Pilot, and later, Apollo 16 Commander, is suited up prior to takeoff.
"Astronauts,

09.05.07

Astronauts, director and various producers before the New York premiere of In the Shadow of the Moon. From left to right, are the astronauts, Harrison Schmitt, Charlie Duke, Edgar Mitchell, Alan Bean, and Buzz Aldrin. The director, David Sington, is second from right.
"Buzz

07.11.1969

Buzz Aldrin is suited up prior to the Apollo 11 flight.
"Buzz

09.05.07

Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11 Lunar Module Pilot, being interviewed at the premiere.
"Jim

04.17.1970

Jim Lovell, Commander of the Apollo 13 mission, reads a newspaper account of the troubled mission hours after the entire crew safely returned to earth.
"Alan

by Courtesy alanbeangallery.com

Today, Alan Bean is an artist with hundreds of works to his name. The bulk of his work has a spaceman’s slant. Images of the moon, astronauts and the earth from afar dominate his canvases.
"President

07.24.1969

President Nixon greets the three Apollo 11 astronauts upon their return home.
"Edgar

09.05.07

Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14 Lunar Module Pilot, being interviewed on the red carpet at the premiere.
"Charlie

04.21.1972

Charlie Duke collecting lunar samples during the Apollo 16 mission. The photo was shot by fellow astronaut, John Young, at the rim of Plum crater. The Lunar Roving Vehicle can be seen in the distance.
"can

09.05.07

At the premiere.
"The

03.30.69

The official Apollo 11 portrait. From left: Commander, Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot, Mike Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot, Buzz Aldrin.
"Hayden

09.05.07

The premiere was hosted at the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History.
"Charlie

09.05.07

Charlie Duke at the premiere party.
"Edgar

02.09.1971

Edgar Mitchell, left, with fellow crewmen and Navy rescue swimmers after the successful completion of Apollo 14. The men wait in a raft in the South Pacific, for the helicopter that will deliver them to the U.S.S. New Orleans, prime recovery ship
"Shots

09.05.07

Shots from the movie, which included never-before-seen archival footage, played in the background at the premiere party.
"Alan

11.19.1969

Alan Bean, Apollo 12 Lunar Module Pilot, descends the Intrepid.
"The

07.19.1969

The Earth through the window of the Apollo 11 Command Module as it neared the Moon.
"Director

09.05.07

Director David Sington addresses the audience. “The Apollo program was the moment where we finally got to see where we came from, and, in a way, to know ourselves more fully.”
"Charlie

09.05.07

Charlie Duke, Apollo 16 Lunar Module Pilot, at the premiere.
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