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So I don’t normally like to write back to back blog posts on a similar topic, but the recent announcement from Elon Musk and SpaceX made me excited. Earlier this week he announced the first civilian that will be traveling into space.
So in honor of this announcement, I decided to make a list of my favorite movies that are out of this world. Some of the movies on this list are older and some are relatively new. These movies can also help you get ready to see First Man which is coming out soon. I saw the trailer last night on HGTV and it looks really good. These movies are perfect to watch while curled up on the couch with a glass of wine or working on an outer space themed project. One of my favorite outer space projects I have ever worked on was this outer space blanket by Whistle and Ivy. The pattern is very easy to follow and fun to make.
Apollo 13
Apollo 13 is one of my all-time favorite movies. It was one of the movies that got me interested in engineering. This movie is about the true story of NASA mission Apollo 13. The crew of Apollo 13 were supposed to land on the moon, but an explosion happened in space and the mission changes to one of survival and trying to get back home.
Against all odds, the astronauts make it back to earth safely. The movie goes back and forth between the astronauts and mission control. It also focuses some on the wives and family of the astronauts. The movie shows who everyone worked together to get astronauts home.
One of my favorite scenes is when engineers at mission control are given a box of items and they are told to make the spare air filter fit into the system. I think this is one of the most accurate descriptions of an engineers job. Engineers have to find a solution to problems within all sorts of parameter ranging from cost to materials.
The Martian
This is one movie that my boyfriend and I actually went to the theater to see when it came out. It is also a movie that I watch every time that I see it on tv. Mark Watney is an astronaut for NASA goes on a mission to Mars. While on Mars a storm causes him to be left by his crew who believes he is dead.
After the crew leaves and the storm is over, it is revealed that Mark is really still alive. Mark is a scientist that studies plants and starts to grow potatoes on Mars for food. He eventually gets into contact with NASA and they try to figure out a way to get Mark home.
The movie is based on a book by Andy Weir with the same name. I borrowed the book from a coworker and enjoyed reading it.
Space Camp
Space Camp was one movie that I watched a lot growing up. My sister and I would watch it almost every month. We both thought it would be cool to go to Space Camp based on this movie.
Space Camp tells the story of a group of campers. The leader of their group is an astronaut who wants to go into space, but she is passed over several times. Her group campers include the typical 80s teen movie characters including the bad boy, an ambitious girl, a nerd, the athlete, and popular girl.
The nerd in this movie is actually younger than the rest of the group. He talks he counselors into letting him stay in the teenage camp because he has been to the junior camp so many times. Since he is younger, he doesn’t really have any friends his age. He ends up befriending a robot, just like in his mind Luke Skywalker.
The movie shows their time at camp up until the final days of camp. During the final days, they are allowed to sit inside the shuttle. While the group is on the shuttle, a computer malfunctions and sends the shuttle to space. At that point, the group has to figure out how to get back to earth.
October Sky
I know that I included October Sky in my favorite book to movie list, but it also makes the list of my favorite space-related movies. I also like that it is based on a true story and it is a story many in rural areas can relate. When I watched this movie in middle school/high school, I really related to Homer. I knew that I want to go to college and become an engineer. Some of my classmates didn’t understand why I enjoyed math and science so much. They didn’t understand why I liked to learn more about these subjects in my free time.
This movie tells the story of Homer Hickam. Homer grew up in a rural West Virginian coal mining town. He knows he doesn’t want to mine coal the rest of his life. After Sputnik is launched, he becomes interested in learning how rockets work and how to make the best rocket.
After a few mishaps, his teacher encourages him to enter the local science fair and gave him books to read about rocketry. He ends up competing in the national science fair where he receives many scholarship offers for college. Homer ends up graduating from college and eventually gets a job at NASA where he works with the space shuttle program.
Armageddon
So I am going to start off by saying this movie is not scientifically accurate, but it is still entertaining. It is another movie that is on FX all the time. I watch it frequently when I see that it is on and there isn’t a football game or new show on.
Armageddon is a movie about a giant asteroid on track to hit earth. NASA is forced to call upon an oil driller whose patent for a drill they are trying to dissect. NASA is unable to figure out how to make the drill work, so they ask him to create a crew that he trusts to go to space along with the astronauts. The goal is to blow up the asteroid to prevent it from hitting earth. He creates a crew of various misfits that do not really fit into the traditional astronaut mold.
Will the crew succeed in blowing up the asteroid and will everyone get back alive? Will the young couple get the chance to live happily ever after?
Space Cowboys
I have watched this movie with my parents several times. It stars Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, and James Garner. Like many of the other movies in this list, it was filmed and released prior to the Columbia disaster. It seems after the Columbia shuttle disaster the number of outer space movies decreased greatly up until the last few years.
So the movie begins with a Russian satellite has veered off its course. During an investigation, NASA discovered that the navigation system was from an American design. As a result, NASA tries to convince the developer to go into space to help stop the satellite. Unfortunately, the developer of the system is a retired Air Force pilot who is still mad that he was told he would be going to space when NASA was formed, but never got the chance too.
NASA finally convinced the retired pilot to go to space, but he had one condition. His teammates (who are also really old) have to be allowed to go too. There is a lot of old verse young dynamics in this movie as the current NASA astronauts see the pilot and his team as only old men.
Magic School Bus – Gets Lost In Space
Arnold’s (the classmate who always has something go wrong) cousin Janet is visiting the school. She is going on and on about how her grade school is better than Arnold’s until Miss Frizzle takes the class to outer space to learn about the planets.
This episode does referencePluto as a planet, but other than that it is a good introduction to the solar system for kids. However, the Pluto controversy is back again. I recently read this article that says some scientist believe it should have never been downgraded. You can watch this episode on Netflix (Season 1, Episode 1).
If you enjoyed this list, be sure to check out some of our other movie lists including:
What is your favorite outer space movie? Share it below in the comments.
