NASA’s Artemis II mission is set to launch as early as February 6, placing human spaceflight to the moon again within the highlight after a 50-plus 12 months hiatus which can encourage future filmmakers to discover the chances of space journey in their personal work.
In celebration of our IRL return to the drama and surprise of space, we asked 11 astronauts to share their favorite space movies that seize the fun of leaving Earth behind. Did your favorite make it?
‘The Martian’: Survival, science and teamwork on the Red Planet
Directed by Ridley Scott and tailored from a e-book by Andy Weir, “The Martian” is at turns humorous and perilous. Matt Damon, within the title character, portrays a stranded astronaut, alone on the Red Planet. He makes use of his botany and mechanical engineering abilities to outlive, but additionally the collective mind belief and braveness of NASA and his fellow mission astronauts.
For Clayton C. Anderson, who spent 5 months aboard the International Space Station in 2007, the depiction of teamwork in “The Martian,” which additionally starred Jessica Chastain, hit near residence. “It shows the dedication of NASA’s workforce, working together, sometimes at huge personal sacrifice, to get the job done,” he said.
Having accomplished a 152-day tour of responsibility in orbit, Anderson is aware of how important that collaboration is. “That job starts with protecting the crew, the vehicle and mission objectives, with all three defining mission success,” he said.
Dr. Kate Rubins, who logged practically 300 days in space and turned the primary individual to sequence DNA past Earth, praised the Oscar-nominated movie for its scientific realism. “It does a great job of showing how biology and chemistry can be used to make what you need from what you have on hand,” she said.
Scenes wherein Damon’s character should develop his personal meals felt particularly genuine. For astronauts, resourcefulness isn’t cinematic aptitude — it’s mission-critical. Having to make the most of what you might be given is “critical during space missions, like growing food or making essential materials, instead of relying upon resupply from Earth,” Rubins added.
‘Apollo 13’: A real story of ingenuity and arguably NASA’s most interesting hour
That identical spirit of ingenuity and teamwork is on the coronary heart of one other astronaut favorite: “Apollo 13,” the true story of the practically ill-fated moon mission, starring Ed Harris, Bill Paxton and Tom Hanks because the mission’s commander Jim Lovell.
Four retired astronauts praised its realism, emotional affect and tribute to NASA’s skilled collaborations.
Nicole Stott, who flew two space shuttle missions and spent greater than 100 days aboard the International Space Station, said one of the best image nominee embodied classes she realized early in her profession as a NASA engineer. “To really make things happen, we have to adopt a ‘here’s how we can, not why we can’t’ approach to everything,” she wrote by way of e-mail.
The movie’s consideration to element left a long-lasting impression on Michael Massimino, who flew a number of shuttle missions and carried out spacewalks to service the Hubble Space Telescope. He said the film, which was inducted into the Library of Congress National Film Registry in 2023, “paid well deserved tribute to the dedicated men and women of Mission Control.”
Others pointed to how precisely the movie captured the true excessive stakes peril of spaceflight. “Ron Howard directed it to be as close to reality as he could, even using the real dialogue between the wounded Apollo capsule and Mission Control,” said Chris Hadfield, who commanded the ISS in 2013. “It intensely dramatizes the urgent, high-stakes, life-or-death reality of spaceflight.”
Howard “did an incredible job reflecting the real tension that both the crew and Mission Control felt during an extremely challenging scenario,” said Scott Altman who was the commander of the ultimate two missions to the Hubble Space Telescope.
Even realizing how the story ends, Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger, one other retired astronaut and educator who emphasizes STEM outreach, said, “it still makes me hold my breath every time I watch it.”
‘Galaxy Quest’: Finding humor and humanity in space journey
Not each astronaut’s favorite movie is grounded in realism. “Galaxy Quest,” staring Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman and Tim Allenigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman and Tim Allen, earns its place in space-lovers’ hearts by capturing camaraderie, humor and the enjoyment of exploration — even whereas poking enjoyable at sci-fi tropes.
“It might not have the verisimilitude of ‘Apollo 13,’ the gold standard for technical accuracy in a space movie, but it captures the wonder of space exploration … and it’s very funny,” Garrett Reisman, a retired astronaut who flew on Space Shuttles Endeavour, Discovery and Atlantis, said.
Stott additionally said she gravitates towards movies that concentrate on relationships over physics. “The human interaction between the characters, which felt so familiar to me,” she said of 1999’s “Galaxy Quest” and one other favorite of hers, 1997’s “RocketMan,” starring Harland Williams.
Few movies seize the daring spirit of the early space program fairly just like the 1983 movie “The Right Stuff,” tailored from Tom Wolfe’s best-selling e-book of the identical title. Following the journey of the unique Mercury 7 astronauts, the film — which starred “Apollo 13’s” Harris, in addition to Sam Shepard and Scott Glenn — resonates with those that know what it means to push the boundaries.
The film is not solely Massimo’s favorite but additionally a turning level in his profession. After seeing it as a senior in faculty, it “rekindled my dream of becoming an astronaut,” he said.
Warner Brothers, which distributed “The Right Stuff” and “Interstellar,” is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, the father or mother firm of NCS.
For some astronauts, cinematic ambition issues as a lot as story. Leroy Chiao, who spent greater than 6 months in space and commanded Expedition 10 aboard the ISS, factors to Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” for the visuals that have been thought-about groundbreaking when it was launched in 1968. “The way that Kubrick was able to film real-looking space scenes back then was fantastic,” said Chiao, the creator of the memoir “Dinner with an Astronaut.”
He recommends studying the e-book, by Arthur C. Clarke, earlier than watching the movie, noting it may be tough to observe in any other case. The payoff is value it. “Once you understand it, wow!” he wrote in an e-mail.
‘Interstellar’: A journey via space, time and humanity
Christopher Nolan’s 2014 “Intersteller” dramatizes a dystopian state of affairs the place the local weather disaster has dwindled Earth’s meals provide, necessitating a mission to discover a liveable Planet B.
The film, starring Matthew McConaughey and “Martian” star Chastain, nails each the science and emotional depth, based on Josh Cassada, who flew to the ISS aboard SpaceX’s Crew-5 mission in 2022.
Dr. Sylvain Costes, a scientist at NASA Ames analysis middle, lauded the movie for displaying how, in deep space, “time becomes a resource more precious than fuel.” The movie, she added, “masterfully transforms the cold equations of General Relativity into a visceral human tragedy.”
Others emphasised the movie’s broader message. Michael Wong, who research planetary atmospheres and habitability, said his mind was full of “the grandeur of space exploration — a collective human endeavor both extremely difficult and uniquely fulfilling.” The movie, he said, balanced “furthering science and art, at once.”
Caltech astro-visualizer Robert Hurt known as “Interstellar” the “2001: A Space Odyssey” of our time, saying “it’s ultimately about humanity taking charge of its own future.”
‘Apollo 11’: Reliving the fun of the moon touchdown
Of course, not all nice space movies must depend on fiction. Terry Virts, a retired NASA astronaut, singled out the NCS documentary “Apollo 11” as a must-see.
“It has amazing newly discovered IMAX-quality footage, a great soundtrack, and when they showed the launch sequence,” Virts said, “my heart was racing faster than when I actually launched into space.”