Men Into Space Season 1, Episode 16: A Handful of Hours

Moon Probe

His family watching from mission control, Col. Edward McCauley who is commanding the first rocket into outer space must make a desperate gamble when the second stage of his rocket fails to jettison.

30 min

Moon Landing

Senator Jim Sloane questions the need for and cost of a mission to the moon after McCauley's first effort to the moon fails and his second effort leaves a crewman seriously injured during takeoff.

30 min

Building a Space Station

McCauley races against time in order to save an astronaut who is trapped when assembling the prefabricated units of a space station. The astronaut is the son of a air force general and trapped when his sleeve catches between sections of the space station.

30 min

Water Tank Rescue

When an astronaut is stricken by a heart attack on the Moon, McCauley must find a way to get him back to Earth.

30 min

Lost Missile

When an experimental nuclear-powered missile goes out of control, its creator insists on accompanying McCauley into space to try and disarm it before it can strike the moon and wipe out a twelve-man expedition.

30 min

Moonquake

Trailblazer I is on route to the Moon when one of the crew gets word his wife has been hurt in a car wreck. Although distracted, the crewman needs to focus all his skills and abilities to overcome a major accident.

30 min

Space Trap

Returning from the Moon with valuable spore samples the crew of MR7 are rendered unconscious. Earth sends a rescue mission but a decision has to be made that could put everyone's life at risk.

30 min

Asteroid

An asteroid straying close to Earth becomes the subject of an experiment. It is decided to scout the asteroid with a view of turning it into a mobile space station. If not the rock must be destroyed.

30 min

Edge of Eternity

Shortly after leaving the Moon a spacecraft is hit by an asteroid destroying their oxygen supply. The three man crew now become engaged in a life and death battle to extend their oxygen supply long enough to make it home.

30 min

Burnout

Test continue on a new alloy for re-entry. On one test the ship acts erratically and although the crew is saved the ship is lost. A second mission is launched to try and understand what went wrong.

30 min

First Woman on the Moon

30 min

Christmas on the Moon

McCauley and two astronomers are on the Moon on Christmas day, and one of them is stricken with appendicitis.

30 min

Quarantine

Two scientists who can't get along are assigned to the same space station, and McCauley has to keep the peace.

30 min

Tankers in Space

It is decided to attempt fuel transfers between space craft while flying in orbit. The requirement for precision control of two spacecraft is met by using a pair of specially trained twins. Safety is the primary concern, but ensuring this, they overlook one potential fatal flaw in the mission

30 min

Sea of Stars

Col. McCauley is training a young cadet who wants to be an astronaut, and pushes the young man almost to his limit. When an onboard accident knocks out McCauley, the nervous young cadet has to bring the craft back to Earth on his own.

30 min

Earthbound

An eager, space-enthusiast technician (played by Robert Reed of The Brady Bunch) installs a smaller Guidance Control System he designed into the rocket ship. There is now room in the equipment bay for him to stow away on the next flight. But during the 12G takeoff his improvised couch crushes the equipment rack, causing the ship to lose all power before reaching orbit. The uncontrollable ship will quickly re-enter and burn unless repairs can be completed.

30 min

Caves of the Moon

A mission is sent to explore a cave system on the Moon in the hope of finding ice. Having a source of water available would enable the colonization of the Moon.

30 min

Dateline: Moon

A maverick journalist wins an opportunity to visit the Moon base. An opportunist he will look for anyway to manufacture a story, and his gambling habits put him at odds with the base commander.

30 min

Moon Cloud

A scientist's wife warns McCauley that her husband Perry's's co-worker Hal Carter is jealous of his success. McCauley doesn't believe her, but when Perry's theory about radioactive gas on the moon prove correct, Hal plots to kill Perry.

30 min

Contraband

McCauley must take four scientists back to the moon to find a deposit of a valuable mineral that one of them stole, so that he can trick the thief into revealing himself.

30 min

Dark of the Sun

Tensions mount as final crew selections go forward for a special observation flight of the sun. At the core of the conflict is the potential for one of the crew to be a woman. The other candidates fail to treat her as a highly trained crew person and only see her as a vulnerable woman. Ultimately she uses her gender to solve the problem

30 min

Verdict in Orbit

Col McCauley, while serving on the space station gets word his son has been seriously injured in a hit and run accident near the rocket base. Tension mounts as word comes through the driver of the car has been identified, and appears to be on duty on board the space station. With nowhere to run and nowhere to hide on the station, how will this terrible emotional conundrum be resolved?

30 min

Is There Another Civilization?

While on a routine flight one of the rockets is hit by a meteor fragment. On Earth they run tests to discover the meteor is not only made of metal, but appears to have been artificially created. A second flight is launched immediately to retrieve more samples. What they discover may solve one of the greatest mysteries known to man.

30 min

Shadows of the Moon

A Moon survey mission finds a curiously-shaped rock formation. A month later, members of the return mission encounter other mysterious events and suspect that they are not alone.

30 min

Flash in the Sky

A ship tasked with retrieving a malfunctioning Venus probe runs into issues when the scientist in charge, a friend of McCauley's insists on going despite previously disobeying McCauley's orders.

30 min

Lunar Secret

A series of photographs taken by an expedition on the Moon shows some sort of artificial object moving up on a ridge. Two men are sent to investigate; what they find amazes them. Then an accident leaves them in deadly danger.

30 min

Voice of Infinity

Space station Astra is chosen for a medical experiment to measure men's reactions to stress and fatigue. The medical director is convinced he can quantify a person's reactions to strain and so prevent accidents. Then a life-threatening problem on the space station requires men to perform well beyond their limits. An inner "voice of infinity" is what they heard, enabling them to save the situation.

30 min

From Another World

Colonel McCauley returns from Asteroid 78-1. The mission was cut short by the failure of his suit oxygen supply. He is insistent that just before he passed out he saw fossil evidence of life on the asteroid. Unconnected with this, Air Force medical staff have recommended his prolonged series of missions requires a 60-day 'grounding' to recover from stress. Will McCauley be able to lead the return mission to the asteroid if its unpredictable orbit permits another rendezvous?

30 min

Emergency Mission

A miss-fire of the MR28 sees the craft miss the Moon and head for deep space. The only chance of rescue is a new MX experimental rocket. In theory, the new ship should have the range. In practice, no one really knows.

30 min

Beyond the Stars

A 3-man team visit the Lunar Observatory, isolated from all Earth signals on the Moon's far side, for routine Radio Telescope work. They pass the time during a long sky-mapping session by taping "A glimpse of lunar life" sound-broadcast. An power fault interrupts and requires a Moon walk to the Radio Telescope. One man is badly injured while returning. Unconscious for days, he responds to the tape-recording and deliriously asks to hear the "sound from the stars." His colleagues comply and make an interesting discovery.

30 min

Mission to Mars

On the Moon the US and Soviets are in an informal race to be the first to Mars. Both sides play down the need to rush with concerns about safety. Ultimately both missions launch within minutes of each other, but a terrible accident completely changes the game and the ultimate fate of both crews.

30 min

Moon Trap

Ship MR34 loses Auto-Control during landing and crashes 200 miles from Moon Base. Two of the crew survive and make for a nearby fuel-cache. Can they use the liquid oxygen there to improvise a survival igloo?

30 min

Flare Up

A Soviet Major is the sole survivor of a crash landing near a US advance moon station. Determined to appear blameless, he reports Americans sabotaged the landing and then takes drastic action to destroy all evidence.

30 min

Into the Sun

A new project involves launching capsules of atomic waste into orbit and then assembling them with an atomic rocket motor. The unit is then accelerated for disposal into the Sun. The civilian Project Engineer, who will attach the a-rocket in space, is a former astronaut who resigned after a re-entry accident. He now lacks confidence in himself and is convinced that no-one else trusts him.

30 min

The Sun Never Sets

McCauley visits England and advises the British space program. He objects to the design of a second stage rocket. The British launch the spacecraft anyway and the second stage malfunctions hurling the craft into a tumbling orbit around the earth. With the help of a new British astronaut, McCauley pursues the crippled ship and succeeds in rescuing the crew.

30 min

Mystery Satellite

The crew of MR37 encounter a strange object that they first believe is a meteor till it starts changing direction to match their ship. Whatever the object was it is confirmed it could not have come from Earth. When MR30 also encounters the object, a desperate chase begins to try and identify it.

30 min

Flight to the Red Planet

The first mission to Mars is nearing the red planet when a series of accidents and break downs put the mission in doubt. The crew must balance the need for caution and safety against the massive amount of scientific data that could be gained on such an expedition.

30 min