By David Raether
Astronauts have a knack for capturing our hearts and imaginations. And if it hadn’t been for Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr., the first American to go into space, the stars may well have stayed out of man’s reach.
To celebrate Shepard’s daring flight into space, as well as the men and women who followed in his footsteps, let us “boldly go where no man has gone before” through film.
Starring Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, and Bill Paxton, Apollo 13 is a movie about the incredible story of the Apollo 13 crew and how they handled a mission to the moon that went very, very wrong.
The film tells the story of astronaut Jim Lovell and his fellow crew members and how they had to handle a terrifying loss of oxygen due to an explosion. It took the creative genius of NASA and a crew of well-trained astronauts to safely make it home. Directed by Ron Howard, the movie made a great effort to be as scientifically accurate as possible, even having hired employees from NASA to give technical input.
Landing on Mars is humankind’s next great ambition. The Martian explores what such a journey on the red planet might be like, and how it could go terribly wrong.
This space epic explores how astronaut Mark Watney, played by Matt Damon, uses his ingenuity and a good dose of luck to survive on the inhospitable planet. It’s a rough and tumble exploration into harsh conditions that our own brave future astronauts would have to face on Mars.
While the movie has its fair share of suspense, Ridley Scott (the prominent sci-fi director that helmed this and space classic Alien) ensure that the movie still buoys a sense of wonder about space and the astronauts that choose to explore the cosmos.
Met with scathing reviews from most critics, Armageddon’s main premise centers around an earth-destroying asteroid. To stop the asteroid from hitting Earth, a ragtag bunch of oil-drilling and bomb experts—played by Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Ben Affleck, and Owen Wilson—become emergency-trained astronauts in order to save the earth.
The movie’s interpretation of space, astronauts, and asteroids is, admittedly, detached from reality. It’s also worth mentioning that Armageddon is directed by Michael Bay, who is well known for his grandiose use of special effects. If you're looking for an action-packed space adventure with dramatic life-and-death consequences featuring some good ol’ boys turned astronauts, Armageddon is the movie to add to your queue.
An epic space movie starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, Gravity mixes beautiful cinema with a powerful story of two astronauts that are trapped on the outer edges of the atmosphere.
After space debris from a downed satellite threatens the NASA Space Shuttle Explorer, Dr. Ryan Stone and astronaut Matt Kowalski must find a way back to Earth. To do so, they begin a risky space walk to the International Space Station, which is fraught with its own dangers.
The film is a testament to the human will to survive, and it’s one that is guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat.
Captain Kirk is back. In this series prequel, we get to learn more about what it means to go through the Star Fleet Academy.
The series reboot, directed by J.J. Abrams, follows the stories of Kirk and Spock as they learn how to take command of the fabled USS Enterprise. But it isn’t long before the politics and dangers of space outweigh personality and authority differences aboard the Enterprise. All the while, Kirk, played by Chris Pine, learns that a wild west approach to space is not the best way to take down Nero, a Romulan who has a bone to pick with the United Federation of Planets.
The movie is a bold retelling of Star Trek that opens up a whole new world for Star Trek fans to revel in.
In Interstellar, Earth is not the bountiful planet it once was. Food is going extinct and Earth’s weather conditions are increasingly inhospitable for human life. And, sadly, humanity going to the moon is portrayed as a fanciful idea that never happened. NASA has been apparently defunded in order for the government to provide scarce food supplies.
But Joseph Cooper, a former NASA pilot played by Matthew McConaughey, finds out that NASA has not been defunded after all. In fact, it’s building a ship to go through a wormhole deemed essential to humankind’s survival, and only Cooper, who has a family of his own, can pilot this momentous flight.
In addition to incredible visuals of space and new planets, Interstellar's gripping storyline will keep you hooked to Cooper’s personal trials through space and time.