Gravity Fields festival tribute to iconic astronaut

An award-winning documentary on the Apollo space programme 'Shadow of the Moon' will pay a festival tribute to astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon.

His death throws new emphasis on Gravity Fields' strong theme of space - one of Newton's fascinations.

Chris Riley, who conceived, produced and directed on the Sundance award winning feature film, will show the film at Grantham Guildhall on Sunday September 23, talk about how it was made and answer questions.

It follows the 24 Americans who journeyed to the Moon between 1968 and 1972 with stories from Apollo 8, the first voyage around the Moon, to the last lunar landing of Apollo 17. Their interviews are interwoven with re-mastered NASA film footage, much of it never used before.

In addition, Anu Ojha, Director of Leicester's National Space Centre, asks what human spaceflight achieved in 'Human Spaceflight, Fantasy or our Future' and whether humans will one day settle in space.

Astronomer Royal Professor Martin Rees is in Grantham to give an illustrated talk on Planets, Stars and the Universe.

And Sky at Night co-presenter Dr Chris Lintott is inviting the public to Newton's birthplace, Woolsthorpe Manor, to gaze at the very moon that could still hold the footprint of Neil Armstrong.

Gravity Fields is supported by SKDC and has received Arts Council England funding