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For all you space and science geeks out there, I’m sure Discovery’s “When We Left Earth” series was the HD event of 2008. If you didn’t get a chance to watch it, missed an episode (like me), or just want to see all the NASA footage in all its HD glory, you can pre-order the six episode DVD box set. The box-set comes with 4 discs and is available in two formats — standard definition and Blu-Ray HD. Bonus features include 4 hours of NASA highlights, extra mission clips and detailed astronaut interviews. The standard version runs $64.95 and will ship on July 10th. However, the Blu-Ray version will set you back $74.99 and ships a couple weeks later on July 24th. (more…)

This Sunday was the second part of When We Left Earth, Discovery Channel’s three part series covering NASA’s first 50 years. While the part one documented the agency’s shaky beginnings up to the Gemini missions (1958 to 1966), part two really focused on the Apollo lunar flights. Once again, they did an excellent job covering in depth all steps leading up to the flights from the Apollo 1 fire, Apollo 10’s dress rehearsal, Apollo 11’s lunar landing, Apollo 13’s struggles to the end of the program with Apollo 17’s final visit to the moon. They wrap up part two with the launch of Skylab - NASA’s project to gauge the effects of extended weightlessness on the human body.

I must say again that the folks at The Discovery Channel did a wonderful job combining HD converted footage with interviews to tell the history of NASA as if you were there for the ride. The third and final part of this documentary is scheduled to air Sunday, June 22 at 9pm. They will cover the recent history of the agency, with a focus on the Space Shuttle program. But, if you can’t wait until then, or would like to watch more video, be sure to check out NASA Video Vault.

Last year’s Canadian Grand Prix included Felipe Massa and Giancarlo Fisichella getting black flagged, Lewis Hamilton winning his first race and Robert Kubica in a spectacular crash. The 2008 race was completely different. Massa finished the race… in fifth place, Lewis Hamilton’s stock plummeted and going from zero-to-hero Robert Kubica notched up the first win for himself and BMW-Sauber F1. As a result, Kubica vaults to the top of the drivers standings and puts BMW-Sauber into second place of the Constructors Championship. Oh, and quick-Nick Heidfeld finished second, with old man David Coulthard finishing on the last step of the podium.

While the win couldn’t have gone to a more deserving driver, Robert has to owe the victory to his new best friend Lewis Hamilton. Because the McLaren sophomore ran into the back of Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari in the pit lane, he knocked the number one and two drivers from the race, allowing Kubica to basically run away with the race. After review, the FIA penalized the McLaren driver 10 grid spots for the upcoming French Grand Prix. We’ll see what Magny-Cours has in store.

Yesterday, as I was watching Discovery Channel’s new series When We Left Earth, I noticed something peculiar. The test, launch and space footage from NASA was in HD and in 16:9 ratio (without pillar-boxing). I started to wonder if they cropped the top and bottom of the footage (beam-boxing??). After doing some research, it looks like NASA did a deal with Discovery to let them convert all the original footage into HD (and presumably digital) to use in their documentary. However, NASA gets all the converted footage for their archives.

Source of the footage aside, the When We Left Earth’s strong point was the fact that they have interviews with the actual people involved with the missions. From astronauts to mission control specialists to family members. So the amount of detail and behind the scenes information they provide is unmatched in anything else I’ve seen before about the space race. It’s not just presented as a history lesson, but more like the viewer is part of the NASA team racing to put a man into space… and on the moon.