Tom Hanks talking about space. Fantastic. Can't go wrong, can he, really? Well, there was a bit in Forrest Gump when we thought he went to space, but of course there was Apollo 13. And this passion he has for the stars has led him to a new project. It's called The Moonwalkers. And it's a show he says he hopes, will bring viewers a sense of what it's like to go to the moon. Yes, all part of NASA's build-up for the next Lunar mission. And Tom's been showing our entertainment correspondent, David, to Silto, around the exhibition.

Oh, no. I can't help. Tom. David, what a pleasure. Nice to see you.

This is amazing. This is amazing.

You're taking me somewhere. Yes, it's only a small step, but it's also a giant leap at the same time. Okay, lead me. Spirit of adventure about you now.

You know, when someone asks if you fancy going on a journey to the moon with Tom Hanks, you say yes.

That's quite- Rocket motors. -an experience. -you would think that that thing would shoot up. We're not going to be standing here, should we? No, we should not. It's going to get a little hot, but that's okay. But don't worry, that's ice that is falling down on that.

Oh, that's what that is?

That's the moisture from the super cold liquid hydrogen fuel tanks.

Tom, as you can probably tell, really knows his space. It's been a passion from childhood, and this is his show, an astronaut's eye view of what it was like to be on an Apollo mission. And it all began when Tom first saw this being used for a David Hockney show, and he had an idea. How did this begin? I mean, this is your project, isn't it?

Well, yeah, I guess so. I probably actually asked a question. I said, If we could walk into this painting, could we actually walk on the moon as well? And they said, Yeah, we can make that happen. Yeah, we could do that. I said, Would you like to work on it with me? And they said, Yeah.

So that's when you had the idea. You walked in and you thought this could be.

The moon. You could put people on the moon in a way that has never, ever, ever been done. And it requires a space as unique as this and a crack team.

This is the closest you're going to get to what it feels like to be on the moon then? That's what you're looking for?

This is the... Outside of the fact that we're still in 1G gravity, this is visiting the moon yourself, yes.

But this isn't just history. It's also a fanfare for what's about to happen.

Good morning, good afternoon. What is it exactly up there now?

Tom has been working with NASA, meeting the astronauts for the next Moon mission, which is due to take off next year. But there is a question. This, going into space, it's an indulgence. There's so many other things we could be spending our money on, so many more important things in life.

Is it still important? What does it do for an individual? You could argue that maybe not much, but what does it do for the cause of humanity? Something magnificent. It takes us to this next place. There's going to come a time when someone is going to live permanently on places like the moon or in space. When that happens, who are we as a species? Who are we as a race? Who are we as Earthlings? We will become interplanetary beings. And isn't that what we're supposed to do as human beings? We're always supposed to get out of the cave and go beyond the campfire and cross the valley and get on the other side of the river to see what is there. We have never not found something magnificent, as well as a magnification of ourselves.

You get a different feel, don't you, when you're looking at it this way. Then as we stood there, a thought occurred. So you love space. You've loved it since you were watching all this as a 13-year-old. Why have you never been up there?

I don't think it would be the experience that I, myself, would be looking for. I'd like to go... Look, they want to invite me up and do a science experiment on me for six and a half months on their-.

You're available.

You're available to go. I would do that without a doubt. And when the Artemis missions go to the moon, if they need a guy to crack jokes and clean up after everybody, I'd do that as well.

So Jeff Bezos hasn't offered you a lift up there yet?

No, not that I know of, but I'll leave that to the folks with time on their hands and the money to pay for it.

What do you want people to take away from us?

Awe, wonder. That's it.

And at the end, a chance to really look at the main attraction.

You know your moon, don't you? I couldn't point out to where it is, but I know the names of them are so filled with romance. Wouldn't you like to take a cruise in the Sea of crises? Wouldn't you like to go visit.

The ocean and storm? I have sailed the Sea.

Of crises many times. We all have, haven't we?

It's a reminder that while we might see it every night, it remains for most of us strange, mysterious.

When you get up just a little bit closer, it's quite stunning, that magnificent desolation. And that's what it is. It is desolate. It seems lifeless. It is a void. And in that, there is just such magnificence to the whole.