These past two weeks I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing the brilliance of science, math, and humanity with the Artemis II mission. Literally. I’ve harassed my sister and closest friends with daily updates, watching live feeds, refreshing NASA’s website, and obsessing over each video I’ve come across on social media. I marvel at the amount of minds that came together to send Christina, Victor, Jeremy, and Reid farthest than any human has gone in history and safely back on a near-perfect mission. As I personally refer to them as my extended space family, they are truly the bravest souls that placed their life on the lines in the name of science and exploration. What a moment to witness in my lifetime. I alongside the rest of the world appreciate their bravery and decades of preparation leading to this very historic moment.
Space films have never really been my go-to movie genre, but with this recent interest, I’ve dived into each film I could come across detailing interstellar travel. It’s safe to say that some of the most groundbreaking films in history have taken place in zero gravity. For this week’s “What to Watch” list, I’ve complied a collection of films that explore the full spectrum of space cinema.
From real-life NASA triumphs in Apollo 13 to fictional journeys to Mars in The Martian, even films detailing what happens on the home front in Fly Me to the Moon. These films reflect humanity’s enduring drive to reach beyond the stars. Together, they showcase how space storytelling can be both intensely grounded in reality and wildly imaginative. This watchlist is forever a reminder that space is not just a destination – it mirrors our greatest hopes beyond what we know.
Also – I hope I get to witness a film made by the very brave Artemis II crew. That’ll be a full circle moment!
Interstellar
In a near-future, Earth is experiencing environmental collapse, slowly rendering the planet inhabitable. Former NASA pilot Cooper joins a mission to find a new habitable planet for humanity. As he travels through a wormhole, he and the crew explore distant worlds where time behaves unpredictably, resulting in impossible choices between survival and loved ones left behind.
Director: Christopher Nolan / Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Jessica Chastain, Anne Hathaway, Michael Caine
Apollo 13
Based on the real-life Apollo 13 mission, the film chronicles a near-disastrous journey to the Moon when an onboard explosion cripples the spacecraft. The crew must work with NASA engineers on the ground to improvise life-saving solutions in a race against time.
Director: Ron Howard / Starring: Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise
Hidden Figures
Set during the height of the Space Race, the film follows three brilliant African American women mathematicians, Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson, working at NASA. The women play a pivotal role in launching astronaut John Glenn into orbit. Facing both racial and gender discrimination, these women push past barriers to contribute calculations that’ll ensure the mission’s success.
Director: Theodore Melfi / Starring: Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe, Kevin Costner
First Man
Detailing the years leading up to the Apollo 11 Moon Landing, the film follows Neil Armstrong as he prepares for one of the most dangerous missions in history.
Director: Damien Chazelle / Starring: Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler
Ad Astra
When a mysterious power surge threaten Earth, astronaut Roy McBride embarks on a deep-space mission to uncover the source.
Director: James Gray / Starring: Brad Pitt
Project Hail Mary
Based on the bestselling novel by Andy Weir, the story follows Ryland Grace, a middle school teacher who wakes up alone on a spacecraft with no memory of how he got there. As his memories slowly return, he realizes he is humanity’s very last hope to stop a mysterious threat that is dimming the Sun. Using science and an unexpected interstellar friendship, Grace races to solve an impossible problem to save Earth.
Director: Phil Lord & Christopher Miller / Starring: Ryan Gosling,
The Martian
When an astronaut is presumed dead during a violent storm on Mars, he is left stranded alone on the hostile planet. Using his ingenuity and expertise, he must find ways to survive while NASA races against time to bring him home.
Director: Ridley Scott / Starring: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jeff Daniels
Fly Me to the Moon
Set against the backdrop of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing, this dramedy follows a marketing specialist hired to boost public support for NASA’s lunar mission. As tensions rise over the mission’s success, she’s tasked with staging a fake Moon landing as a backup.
Director: Greg Berlanti / Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum
Gravity
After debris from a destroyed satellite devastates their shuttle, two astronauts are left stranded in orbit with limited oxygen and no communication with Earth. As they struggle to survive in space, they tactfully navigate from one damaged station to another.
Director: Alfonso Cuarón / Starring: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney
High Life
A group of death-row inmates are sent on a mysterious deep-space mission to harvest energy from a black hole as part of a scientific experiment.
Director: Claire Denis / Starring: Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche, André 3000, Mia Goth
