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From 'Total Recall' to 'The Martian', The 10 Best Movies Set on Mars

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While the moon was humanity's first obsession when we discovered space travel, Mars has become our latest target in recent decades. The red planet has been the subject of countless studies, leading some to believe that humanity's endgame is to pack up Earth and move to our neighbor: if movies have taught us anything, it's that maybe we would be better off staying on our planet.

RELATED: 15 Sci-Fi Movies That Will Give You An Existential Crisis

Films, video games, and books have set stories on the planet, each with its spin on how hospitable it is to humans. Some treat it as a home away from home, while others see it as a fascinating new world for its characters to explore and discover. Of course, there are also horror movies where Mars is treated as a harsh wasteland for unlucky visitors to be hunted down and eviscerated by the locals.

'The Martian' (2015)

One of the best space movies of the 21st century , The Martian , follows a crew of astronauts sent to Mars for a survey mission. When a dust storm results in Mark Watney ( Matt Damon ) being swept away, his team assumes he is dead and departs without him. Actually alive, Watney is forced to find ways to survive his new environment as those on Earth scramble for ways to bring him home.

While The Martian is stacked with a great ensemble cast, the movie rests on Damon's shoulders. The actor is more than up to the task as he imbues Watney with an enduring charm that sees him never drop his head, no matter how hopeless his situation seems.

'Cowboy Bebop: The Movie' (2001)

One of the greatest animated shows of all time , Cowboy Bebop follows the exploits of a bounty-hunting crew who travel the galaxy looking for work. With Earth no longer hospitable, Mars has become the new cultural hub for the universe's residents, and the planet is a common setting throughout the series.

Cowboy Bebop: The Movie is set in between episodes 22 and 23 of the anime and follows the Bebop crew as they try to prevent a terrorist from unleashing an attack on the population of Mars. Acting like an extended episode of the show, the longer format allows the creators to further flesh out the characters and world.

Cowboy Bebop is available to stream on Crackle.

'Red Planet' (2000)

With Earth on the verge of death, a team of astronauts in 2056 is sent to Mars to colonize the planet to sustain human life. Of course, they soon discover they are not alone and become threatened by a native insect race, while their mission robot also goes on a murderous rampage.

Red Planet features a great cast that includes Val Kilmer , Carrie-Anne Moss , and Terence Stamp , and it is a mindless but entertaining sci-fi thriller. While not as good as Event Horizon and Sunshine , it should appeal to fans of those films craving more thrills in outer space.

'Mission to Mars' (2000)

Another case of the strange phenomenon where two movies with similar plots were released in the same year , Brian De Palma 's Mission to Mars, shares a similar set-up to Red Planet , but it ventures more into adventure territory than that film's thriller leanings.

Starring Tim Robbins , Connie Nielsen , and Don Cheadle , Mission to Mars charts the journey of a team of astronauts sent to Mars to rescue the survivors of the doomed crew that preceded them. While on the alien planet, they discover artifacts that may hold answers to the true beginning of human life.

'Doom' (2005)

One of the better video game adaptations , Doom is a schlocky action-horror movie, but it's also a lot of fun. Dwayne Johnson heads the cast as the leader of a group of space marines who travel to Mars to investigate a research facility that has gone dark. Karl Urban and Rosamund Pike costar.

Doom is a movie that never pretends to be something that it's not, as its crew of gruff, buff men shoots their way through a planet full of demons. It is also worth watching a different side of Johnson, whose turn as Sarge offers the actor a chance to explore darker territory than he usually does with his characters.

'Ghosts of Mars' (2001)

Another brainless action-horror flick that is highly entertaining, Ghosts of Mars sees John Carpenter heading to the red planet. When a squad of space police (that includes Jason Statham ) travels to a mining colony to collect infamous criminal Desolation Williams ( Ice Cube ), they find the whole place abandoned.

Soon enough, the possessed colonists reveal themselves, and the officers are forced to join forces with the prisoner to fight their new adversaries. Full of guns, blades, and decapitated heads, Ghosts of Mars is a fun thrill ride as Carpenter cuts loose and delivers an entertaining action movie.

'Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars' (2017)

The original Starship Troopers is a cult classic, perfectly blending sci-fi action with political satire. Two sequel movies were produced, both better off forgotten as they failed to do justice to the fantastic first film. Rather than making another live-action flop, a CGI sequel was made to recapture the crazy spirit of the original.

After the success of the first CGI movie, Starship Troopers: Invasion , a sequel titled Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars was created. Moving the action to Mars, the movie brings back franchise stars Casper Van Dien and Dina Meyer to voice their characters as they battle an invasion of bugs upon a satellite station on the planet.

'Moonshot' (2022)

Despite having the Moon in its title, Moonshot follows two teenagers as they board a shuttle to Mars. With the planet now housing human life, barista Walt ( Cole Sprouse ) and student Sophie ( Lana Condor ) wish to move there, and they learn more about each other and themselves along the way.

Moonshot is a charming romantic comedy, even if it never quite makes the most of its sci-fi setting. While it hits most of the familiar notes that plague the rom-com genre, the performances, especially from Condor, make this a trip worth taking.

'John Carter' (2012)

Living in 1868, Confederate soldier John Carter ( Taylor Kitsch ) discovers a medallion after a run-in with an extra-terrestrial and uses it to travel to Mars. Carter's unique physiology gifts him supernatural abilities while on the planet, and he uses them to fight bad guys and rescue the princess.

While John Carter was a box office bomb, it is far from a bad movie. It is a visual treat as Carter escapades around the dusty planet and a good adaptation of the Barsoom novels it is based on. Disney hoped the movie would lead to its next big franchise, but its box office failure quickly killed those plans.

John Carter is available to stream on Disney+ .

'Total Recall' (1990)

One of Arnold Schwarzenegger 's best movies, Total Recall , is the definitive Mars movie for many. When construction worker Douglas Quaid is plagued by a recurring dream set on Mars, he visits a clinic that claims to plant false memories into people's heads. Choosing one where he is a secret agent on Mars, Quaid soon finds himself on a deadly journey to the planet as mysterious figures pursue him.

Combining Arnie's trademark action with humor and surreal visuals, Total Recall is one of the greatest science-fiction movies ever made. It remains one of the genre's most influential films, and its impact is still felt today through projects such as The Matrix , Rick and Morty , and The Expanse .

Total Recall is available to stream on HBO Max .

KEEP READING: 10 Best Sci-Fi Movies of All Time, According to IMDb

• The Martian
• Cowboy Bebop

20 Movies About Mars That You Should Watch Next

Since the dawn of cinema, filmmakers have been taking audiences to far-off worlds, with some of the earliest taking us to the Red Planet, a world that has always fascinated us as our closest stellar neighbor. The 1918 silent Dutch film "A Trip to Mars"  was one of the first, but it certainly wasn't the last.

A favorite setting for classic b-movies like "A Flight to Mars" and "It! The Terror From Beyond Space," Mars has been the origin of some of Hollywood's best movie monsters too, such as the 1953 classic "The War of the Worlds." From then until today, Mars remains a world of endless mystery, and it has been used in movies from every genre, action, adventure, horror, drama, romance — even comedy. Maybe you've seen some of the classics, but there are plenty more, and we've gathered 20 of them that you should be watching. 

You've probably seen or at least heard of a few of them, but there's no doubt some that will come as a surprise. So strap in and prepare to depart Earth, because it's time to get your butt to Mars! 

1. Mars Attacks!

For the 1996 special effects bonanza "Mars Attacks!," director Tim Burton was brought onboard to adapt a series of pulp sci-fi trading cards from the 1960s published by Topps. The original trading cards showed a shockingly violent alien invasion of Earth by big-brained monsters from Mars, complete with giant robots, shrink rays, and burning flesh. The film may have eschewed the cards' gritty tone, but kept their over-the-top spectacle, with a fleet of Martian saucers raining destruction from above.

When they're first detected on their way to Earth though, biologist Donald Kessler (Pierce Brosnan) insists they must have peaceful intentions, and U.S. President Dale (Jack Nicholson) insists on welcoming their Martian neighbors as friends. But things go wrong right away when the Martian's ambassador vaporizes the military envoy, sending Earth into a panic. This includes a brazen Las Vegas hotelier, an ex-boxer who is trying to reunite with his wife and kids, and a pair of news reporters covering the chaos.

A black comedy populated by offbeat characters , "Mars Attacks!" boasted an all-star cast that included Glenn Close, Natalie Portman, Martin Short, Sarah Jessica Parker, Pierce Brosnan, Danny DeVito, Michael J. Fox, and Jack Nicholson in dual roles, as a Las Vegas casino magnate and as the President of the United States. Footballer Jim Brown and legendary crooner Tom Jones also made memorable appearances, but the movie is really all about its wild destruction and cynical look at humanity.

2. Ad Astra

From a wacky sci-fi action comedy to a thoughtful drama, Brad Pitt starred in the 2019 film "Ad Astra," a high-profile project for the Hollywood star that was met with stellar critical reviews, even if it didn't earn the big box office bucks that he's used to. Perhaps that's owed to its understated nature, as the film is not even the flashy production of Christopher Nolan's "Interstellar," instead telling a more somber story of family and faith.

Set in a not-too-distant future where we learn that the Earth is facing endless war and global disaster thanks to its own hubris, the story sees Pitt in the role of Roy McBride, a commander with the interstellar SpaceCom agency. Deadly power surges have been ravaging the planet for years, but when its discovered that the problem can be traced back to an old space mission led by his father (Tommy Lee Jones), McBride is tasked with taking a mission to Mars to find him.

A film with a powerful message, it examines many of the very real problems we face today, right here on modern-day Earth, and shows us a personal story set in a bleak future to serve as wisdom and warning. Full of moving performances from its all-star cast, it hasn't yet become a sci-fi classic, but may be one of the most underrated movies about Mars.

3. The Martian

The story of how "The Martian" came to be is almost as compelling as the movie itself, as it was based on a book by former blogger and amateur writer Andy Weir, who self-published his story as a 99 cent digital download on Amazon ( per Business Insider ). But the story proved a sensation and quickly got the attention of Hollywood. After finding a director in Ridley Scott ( "Blade Runner" ) and a star in Matt Damon, it became a bonafide blockbuster hit. 

Centering on astronaut Mark Watney, the story chronicles an ill-fated trip to Mars that leaves him the last man on the surface, unable to escape after an approaching dust storm causes their mission to be aborted. Thankfully, Watney is a skilled biologist and botanist, and is able to use his training and expertise to stay alive while his team back on Earth plans a new mission to save him. Harder on the science than most sci-fi movies, it was a film that astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson praised for its detail and accuracy ( via IGN ).

But don't let its focus on authenticity fool you, "The Martian" is still a first-rate sci-fi thriller, full of high drama, suspense, and excitement on the Red Planet.

First announced with a terrifying and ominously enigmatic trailer , the 2017 sci-fi horror movie "Life" was nothing like what audiences expected. A hair-raising affair from its first tease, the film featured yet another award-worthy cast, led by Ryan Reynolds ("Deadpool"), Jake Gyllenhaal ("Spider-Man: Far From Home"), Rebecca Ferguson ("Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation"), and Hiroyuki Sanada ( "Avengers: Endgame" ). 

Aboard the International Space Station, we meet a team of astronauts and researchers who have taken custody of new samples taken from a recent trip to Mars. As they study the samples, they soon realize they have found the first proof of organic extraterrestrial life. But their excitement over this extraordinary discovery quickly gives way to terror when the organism they hold begins to grow too fast for them to contain, and becomes a vicious, flesh-eating creature that threatens all of their lives. 

But as the station begins to slowly lose its orbit and heads toward Earth, it's up to the team aboard the ISS to save mankind from the same organism that may have wiped out all life on Mars. If you're looking for a genuinely terrifying movie about what could happen if we ever really found true alien life on Mars, this is the movie for you.

5. Total Recall

Considered one of the greatest action films of the 1990s , the Arnold Schwarzenegger blockbuster was based on the sci-fi short story, "We Can Remember it For You Wholesale" (via Lit Reactor ). A break from his more ordinary over-the-top action flicks, Schwarzenegger went for a full-throated science fiction adventure in a story set in a dystopian future where Mars has been colonized and is ruled by a brutal tyrant named Cohaagen. A rebellion made up of mutants and laborers has coalesced into a full-fledged underground resistance to stop him.

The film centers on Douglas Quaid (Schwarzenegger), a disillusioned construction worker on Earth who is bored with his hum-drum existence and looking for some excitement. Against his wife's wishes, Quaid gets a virtual vacation in the form of implanted memories of life as a secret agent on Mars. But during the procedure, something goes wrong, and Quaid begins to think that he may actually be an undercover operative working for Cohaagen, and his life on Earth has been a lie. To discover the truth, Quaid travels to the Red Planet where he meets Melina (Rachel Ticotin), a seductive rebel who helps him find the resistance's leader Kuato, a telepathic mutant who can help get him answers.

Full of gut-bursting action, graphic violence, and plenty of director Paul Verhoeven's patented political satire, "Total Recall" is an all-time Mars classic.

6. War of the Worlds

The second big screen adaptation of one of the most famous alien invasion stories ever written, the 2005 blockbuster "The War of the Worlds" came more than half of a century after the 1953 Hollywood retelling of the H.G. Wells classic, and nearly 70 years after an infamous radio adaptation. Directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Cruise , there was no doubting the talent involved, and with a big budget and impressive effects, it lived up to the audience's sky-high hopes.

Though the story shows alien annihilation on a global scale as monsters from Mars attack planet Earth, the story focuses on a single family, with Cruise playing divorced dad Ray Ferrier, who struggles to maintain a relationship with his two children. With custody of teenager Robbie (Justin Chatwin) and 10-year-old Rachel (Dakota Fanning) while his ex-wife is away, Ray's plans for a fun weekend are turned upside down by an alien invasion. Now he must stay alive and keep his kids safe while praying Earth's governments can find a way to defeat the Martian menace.

Though nobody in the audience was ever convinced that what was happening on screen was real — unlike the first  Orson Welles radio broadcast of the story — the film nevertheless thrilled audiences to the tune of over $600 million , becoming one of the biggest movies of the year.

7. John Carter

After the launch of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2008, everyone was looking for the next big sci-fi/action cinematic universe, and  Walt Disney turned to a series of adventure novels from the turn of the century that helped inspire the likes of "Star Wars" : Edgar Rice Burroughs' "John Carter of Mars." With high hopes of becoming the next big franchise, Disney put a mammoth budget behind it, and Pixar's Andrew Stanton ("Wall-E") in the director's chair. 

The story begins during the American Civil War, where Confederate soldier John Carter ( Taylor Kitsch ) is running from the Union Cavalry and encounters an alien being who transports him back to his home planet of Barsoom, which we know as Mars. But the world he finds across the cosmos is a little different than the one he left, and also deeply engulfed in conflict and turmoil. There, the evil warlord Tars Tarkas ( Willem Dafoe ) is engaged in a great war with Princess Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins) and her armies, and the outsider human John Carter may be their only hope.

A rollercoaster action adventure set on Mars, "John Carter" may never have sparked the franchise Disney had hoped, but it's still a heck of a good time. And in a weird way, it all ended well for Disney, as the film's production woes and box office troubles helped convince the brand to stop trying to build its own blockbuster sci-fi franchise and just buy up "Star Wars."

8. Mars Needs Moms

A year before "John Carter," Walt Disney released another film about the Red Planet, this time a CGI animated kid's movie based on a book by Berkeley Breathed, creator of the wildly popular cult hit comic strip, "Bloom County." Written and directed by Simon Wells — grandson of "War of the Worlds" author H.G. Wells — it was produced by Robert Zemeckis ("Back to the Future") and featured the voices of Seth Green, John Cusack, Mindy Sterling, and Dan Fogler. 

In the film, aliens from Mars come to Earth and kidnap a woman in order to extract her "momness" to help program their newest nanny-bots to help raise their children. But the woman's son Milo inadvertently goes along for the ride, and now it's up to the pint-sized 10 year old to rescue his mom and somehow find a way back to Earth. Along the way, Milo befriends another human named Gribble, a man who's been stranded on Mars for more than 20 years. Milo also discovers that Martian society has gone astray and all they really need is someone to help raise the next generation because the adults have no idea how.

A visually luscious, sentimental children's adventure, it's the perfect movie about Mars that the little ones will enjoy.

9. Mission to Mars

Perhaps thanks to mankind's first actual missions to Mars in the '90s – including the Pathfinder and Sojourner landers  – Hollywood pumped out a series of movies about the Red Planet in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Just after the turn of the millennium, in fact, two dueling Mars movies landed, the first of which was Disney's "Mission to Mars," one in a string of attempts at turning theme park rides into big-budget adventure movies (via The Orange County Register ). 

In the year 2020, a mission to the Red Planet finds a team of astronauts looking for possible sites for colonization. But investigating a strange reading detected on the surface, the team of astronauts is killed by an unknown phenomenon, leaving only one man alive, commander Luke Graham ( Don Cheadle ). Stranded with no hope of returning home, a second mission is scrambled, but when they arrive, Graham reveals disturbing evidence that they may not be alone on the planet.

The movie may have lacked big action, but what it was missing in over-the-top spectacle it more than made up for with loads of suspense, impressive special effects sequences, and an eerie score from spaghetti Western legend Ennio Morricone. And if you're looking for an impressive cast, you can do much worse than Gary Sinise ( "Apollo 13" ), Don Cheadle ("Avengers: Endgame"), Jerry O'Connell ( "Sliders" ) and Tim Robbins ("The Shawshank Redemption").

10. Robinson Crusoe on Mars

If you're looking for good old sci-fi fun on Mars, look no further than the 1964 movie " Robinson Crusoe on Mars ." This lost relic starred Paul Mantee and a pre-"Batman" Adam West , and is quite literally a science fiction adaptation of the classic adventure novel "Robinson Crusoe." In the original book, a young man sets out on an adventure at sea, only to become a castaway on a deserted island after his ship wrecks in a storm. Forced to survive all alone, he comes into conflict with a number of hostile adversaries before finally being rescued.

In this version, the story follows space Commander "Kit" Draper, who leads Earth's first manned mission to Mars. On approach, however, disaster strikes and Draper becomes separated from his co-pilot, only to later discover that he is the only one who survived the landing. But after learning how to survive, Draper learns that he's not alone, and uncovers a mining operation where a tyrannical alien race has enslaved a lesser species into hunting for a precious ore.

While "Robinson Crusoe" may not be "The Martian," it's a fascinating time capsule of retro sci-fi with a genuinely compelling story that's both imaginative and fun.

11. Ghosts of Mars

What might be the weirdest movie on this list, "Ghosts of Mars" comes from the mind of legendary filmmaker John Carpenter , who by 2001 had already produced nearly a half dozen all-time classics. From "Halloween" to "The Thing" and "Escape From New York," Carpenter had proven himself a master of multiple genres. For this one, he found a way to blend them all together into a campy, chaotic soup, with elements of science fiction, horror, action, and even a touch of classic Westerns. 

Essentially a zombie movie set in outer space, the movie takes place long into a future where Mars has become an Earth colony. Home to a strange society that runs a massive mining operation, a series of odd occurrences begin to pile up, and a startling revelation is made that will change life on Mars forever. Suddenly, an ancient Martian civilization is re-awakened, but they're not about to play nice with their human neighbors, and the ghost-like beings take control of people's bodies and turn ordinary men and women into mindless killing machines.

With a bizarre story structure and an eclectic cast that included Ice Cube, Pam Grier, and Jason Statham, no one's going to nominate "Ghost of Mars" as one of Carpenter's best. But there's something so undeniably fun about it that it's hard to resist as a Sunday afternoon romp. If you want a light, raucous action movie on Mars, don't miss it.

12. The Space Between Us

An under-the-radar release from 2017, "The Space Between Us" uses Mars to help tell a tender, star-crossed love story. Seemingly inspired by "Stranger in a Strange Land" by Robert Heinlein (author of "Starship Troopers"), its impressive cast includes Gary Oldman, Carla Gugino, Britt Robinson, B.D. Wong, and "Ender's Game" standout Asa Butterfield. But more than just a love story, it's also an interstellar mystery that touches on themes of a more spiritual nature.  

At some point in the future, a woman on the first manned trip to Mars gives birth to a young boy, Gardner Elliot (Butterfield) who is kept a secret from the world at large. Years later, Gardner is a teenager who has grown up in isolation and he develops a virtual romance with a girl on Earth named Tulsa (Janet Montgomery). After Gardner finally convinces his caretakers to bring him to his ancestral homeworld to meet her, he learns that growing up on Mars has left him unable to ever live in Earth's atmosphere. Determined to find a way to be with Tulsa, the young lovebirds escape in the hopes of finding a way to be together.

A poignant coming-of-age tale that uses Mars as the backdrop, "The Space Between Us" is a heartfelt drama for the whole family.

13. Red Planet

The second Mars-themed movie to release in 2000 after "Mission to Mars" was the Val Kilmer led science fiction action film "Red Planet."  Like that other film, the movie involves the exploration of Mars with the hopes of finding it suitable for colonization, but things take a wildly different turn once the action gets going. Instead of a fateful encounter with an ancient civilization and a subsequent rescue mission, "Red Planet" follows a series of violent incidents that befall the crew of an exploratory ship.

As the film begins we learn that Earth by the year 2050 is quickly becoming uninhabitable and options for colonizing the solar system are being investigated. With overpopulation and ecological crises piling up, unmanned missions to the Red Planet turn terrestrial algae into oxygen producers. But when the output of the project unexpectedly drops, a team of scientists and astronauts — and a dangerous military robot of course — is sent to find out why. When they get there, though, it's one disaster after another as their journey to save the human race turns into a deadly fight for survival.

With a good cast that also includes Carrie-Anne Moss, Tom Sizemore, and Benjamin Bratt, "Red Planet" is a simple but effective sci-fi action movie.

14. Moonshot

The most recent film to send a group of intrepid explorers to Mars, the 2022 HBO Max original science fiction romantic comedy "Moonshot" stars Cole Sprouse, Lana Condor, Mason Gooding, and Emily Rudd. A light-hearted love story, it follows a young man named Walt who works as a barista in the year 2049. Leading a boring life, he's dreamed of taking a trip to Mars through a special college program, but has been repeatedly denied.

But when Walt meets Sophie, a jilted lover headed to the Red Planet to see the boyfriend whose stay on Mars has been extended, he sneaks aboard the flight by posing as her wayward lover. While on the trip off-planet, the two begin to form a budding quasi-romance, while Walt is forced into the unexpected role of a terraforming expert in an effort to avoid getting caught. Eventually though, Sophie has to decide with which man her future lies, and Walt has to figure out which planet he really belongs on.

Lively performances and good chemistry between the two interstellar sweethearts make "Moonshot" an earnest and endearing space-based comedy. 

15. Stowaway

A streaming original that flew under everyone's radar with unfortunately little attention paid to it — as so many do these days — the sci-fi drama "Stowaway" is about a team of astronauts on a trip to Mars that goes horribly wrong. Released in 2021 on Netflix , the film's sterling cast includes Toni Collette ( "Knives Out" ), Daniel Dae-Kim ("Lost"), and Anna Kendrick ("Pitch Perfect"). Together, on a carefully planned mission to the fourth planet, they are forced into a dire situation by one man's mistake.

Readying for an extended mission that will see them call the spacecraft MTS-2 home for two years, the crew has carefully planned every last detail of their journey to Mars. Their plans are turned upside down though when after takeoff they discover one of the launch engineers has inadvertently stowed away on the starship, knocked unconscious while prepping the module. To make matters worse, his presence has damaged the ship's CO2 scrubbers, meaning they won't have any new oxygen once they breathe the vessel's supply of air. 

As their situation gets more and more critical, the voyagers realize they cannot survive with an extra passenger, and they must make a terrible choice: one of them must die for any of them to live. Brilliantly suspenseful, "Stowaway" proved a hidden gem about a nightmarish trip to the Red Planet.

Not all movies about Mars come from the United States. One brilliant drama involving the planet comes to us by way of Sweden (via Roger Ebert ). Released to streaming in 2018, "Aniara" is dystopian science fiction of the highest caliber, directed by the team of Pella Kågerman and Hugo Lilja. Together, they tell a story of a future where Earth has been so ravaged by disaster it is uninhabitable thanks to climate change, and neighboring Mars has long since been turned into a refuge for humanity.

With ocean levels rising to devastating levels, and ongoing weather events pummeling nations across the globe, mankind has begun a migration across the stars to find a safe haven. Large space ferries have begun moving mass amounts of Earth's survivors off-world to Mars, which use an elaborate A.I. technology called a Mima to keep passengers entertained during their voyage. This virtual reality simulation is critical to keeping passengers calm aboard the city-sized starships, but when one of them, the Aniara, experiences a critical failure, the ship's journey becomes years longer, which causes their Mima to malfunction. 

With no way to keep the colonists occupied from their worsening space madness, the fragile state of peace on the ship breaks down. Now the only hope now may be a ship's engineer who is responsible for the Mima's function.

17. RocketMan

Trips to Mars are a frequent subject matter for sci-fi, and in 1997 "RocketMan" took a comical look at what a sojourn to the Red Planet might look like. Starring Harland Williams not long after his film debut in "Dumb and Dumber," it put the wild-eyed funny man into the role of a computer programmer unwittingly turned into a space explorer, a geeky scientist thrust into the high stakes world of the astronauts.

Williams plays oddball Fred Z. Randall, a programming engineer who has no desire to see outer space, far from the star-seeking dreamers in other movies. But when NASA is prepping for their first manned mission to Mars and encounters a fatal programming error in their computer system, Randall is called in to correct it. And when mission specialist — and Randall's old programming partner — Bill Overbeck (William Sadler) is injured during flight training, Randall is forced into his place on the trip to the Red Planet.

Randall eventually makes it to Mars, where he becomes a surprising hero, and even comes face to face with aliens. A mix of "Apollo 13" and "Ace Ventura," the film was hated by critics, but loved by audiences . If you like wacky comic misadventures on Mars though, you should give this one a whirl.

18. Stranded

The 2001 sci-fi film "Stranded" is an English language Spanish film starring Vincent Gallo ("Brown Bunny"), Maria de Medeiros ( "Pulp Fiction" ), and Joaquim de Almeida ("Fast Five"). Another film that tells the tale of Earth's first manned mission to Mars, this one is darker and scarier than most, with plenty of twists and turns that make it a stunning sci-fi chiller as much as a daring survivalist drama, as the story moves beyond the kind of gritty realism of "The Martian."

The year is 2020, and the Ares mission has finally made it all the way to Mars after a multi-year journey from Earth. A diverse, seven-person crew comprised of astronauts from around the world has arrived to explore the dusty dunes of the Red Planet, but problems on the ship's descent quickly turn to disaster. With the landing module unable to take off, the crew becomes trapped on the planet with no hope of escape, and rescue years away. To survive, they'll need to find ways of making their dwindling supplies last, and turn their damaged craft into a long-term livable habitat.

But just as they prepare to make this planet their new home, they make the shocking discovery that they may not be the first ones to have set foot on Mars.

19. The Last Days on Mars

While "Aniara" and "Stowaway" were smaller streaming releases, the 2013 sci-fi horror action thriller "The Last Days on Mars" was a little-known, little-seen movie starring Liev Schreiber ("X-Men Origins: Wolverine") and Elias Koteas ( "Chicago P.D." ) that only ever received a limited theatrical release. As its title suggests, it focuses on a team of researchers who've been stationed on Mars for an extended mission, and follows the catastrophic events that occur in their final days before they are due to depart for planet Earth.

As their mission is winding down, most of the eight-person crew is getting ready for the arrival of a craft from Earth that will take them home after six months on the Red Planet. But when scientist Marko Petrovic (Goran Kostić) believes he's found evidence of organic life he becomes obsessed with proving his theories before they leave. But his quest for a scientific milestone turns into a nightmare when the organism he finds turns him into an undead, flesh-eating monster. As the threat spreads, the rest of his crew must find a way to stay alive long enough for their evacuation craft to save them.

A movie whose low budget shows at times, it's still a scary, spine-tingling adventure that should satisfy.

20. Settlers

While many films on this list have involved monsters from Mars attacking Earth or the struggles faced aboard spacecraft headed to the Red Planet, the 2021 British science fiction drama "Settlers" is one of a few to be firmly set on Martian soil. A low-budget indie movie starring Sofia Boutella ( "Star Trek: Beyond" ) and Johnny Lee Miller ("Elementary"), the film is essentially a dark, dreary character-driven Western that moves the setting from the American frontier to the final frontier. 

It all takes place in a future where Mars has become home to a number of desolate Earth outposts where we meet Ilsa and Reza (Boutella and Miller), parents to a young girl named Remmy (Brooklynn Prince). Not the idyllic, utopian future colony worlds envisioned by many science fiction stories, the outposts here are drab, dank, and inhospitable. But they are also terribly unsafe, a place where roving bandits make life miserable for those like Ilsa and Reza, and now one of them wants to join their family.

A grounded look at the darker side of what colonizing other planets could be like, "Settlers" is no space adventure, but a bleak story of survival on the borderlands.

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10 Best Sc-Fi Movies about Mars

August 11, 2017 James Miller Sci-Film Reviews 0

While science fiction movies have long since explored the notion of venturing off and visiting other worlds, there is one planet that frequently comes up when we talk about space travel: Mars. Out of all the planets in our solar system and all the potential planets in other galaxies, our nearest planetary neighbor has always been the one that comes up the most when we talk about colonization, travel or exploration.

A major reason for the fascination about Mars is the fact that scientific research over the past several decades indicates that in the distant past Mars once had a climate believed capable of supporting life. Therefore, the Red Planet is seen as the most conceivable solution if our population ever needed a new planet to colonize , and because of this, many movies have chosen it as the target of their cosmic traveling tales. Comprised here is a list of the top 10 best movies involving Mars, creatures from Mars, or going to Mars in one way or another.

The Martian (2015) Director: Ridley Scott IMDB: 8.0

Based on the Andy Weir novel, this story follows hapless astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) who is unknowingly left behind on Mars during a failed exploration trip. He must then use all of his scientific expertise and training to survive long enough on Mars until his crew comes back to rescue him, and before he runs out of food and supplies. This is a brilliantly written, surprisingly comedic film that has a great deal of heart and talent behind it. It’s one of those rare gems that both critics and audiences alike loved, making it a highly recommended choice for anyone seeking out a good movie about Mars.

Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (2001) Director: Watanabe, Okiura, Takei IMDB: 7.9

Mars is more like a loose playground for the bounty hunter crew in this cinematic tale from the hit Anime series “Cowboy Bebop.” Whether you know the series or not, this is still an awesome, kick-ass movie that excels in action, music, drama and amazing animation. Furthermore, those that love the show will love this just as much as it delivers everything a fan may have expected and loved from the original iconic series, only on a grander scale and with an even greater budget.

Total Recall (1990) Director: Len Wiseman IMDB: 7.5

One of Arnold’s most memorable films besides his “Terminator” roles, “Total Recall” follows our protagonist, the factory worker Douglas Quaid, who discovers that at some time he had his mind wiped and implanted with fake memories, after some of those suppressed memories start to emerge. He also finds a series of cryptic clues left to him by his former self in order to find out the truth about his old life, which subsequently leads him to Mars, where he discovers mutants, a corrupt government, and a number of oddities, including 3 breasted hookers. It’s over the top crazy and the “eye bug out” scenes will stick with you long after the corny one liners run through your mind. It’s one of the best uses of the Mars setting I’ve seen, and definitely makes this movie more than just another action blockbuster vehicle that Schwarzenegger is known for.

The War of the Worlds (1953) Director: Byron Haskin IMDB: 7.1

A truly memorable film, this take on the classic H. G. Wells’ novel of the same title published in 1898 set a new standard for special effects when it came out in the early 50’s. It effectively portrays the chaos and pandemonium created by a full-scale invasion originating from the Red Planet, with the martian machines and their heat rays beautiful, graceful and terrifying at the same time. For those movie buffs preferring to see a more modern version on the theme, there is always Steven Spielberg’s 2005 take on “War of the Worlds” starring Tom Cruise in the lead role.

John Carter (2012) Director: Andrew Stanton IMDB: 6.6

This expensive space adventure largely based upon the novel “A Princess of Mars (1917)” unfortunately lost a considerable amount of money at the box office , ultimately killing any hope of this classic novel series being further adapted into more movies. A shame really, as this story about a civil war lieutenant getting transported to Mars and liberating aliens from a tyrant’s oppression was actually quite entertaining. The movie’s history is quite extensive, and this is easily one of the most elaborate interpretations of Mars and life on the Red Planet than most films have done, be it in the past or by today’s standards.

Mars Attacks! (1996) Director: Tim Burton IMDB: 6.3

Quite possibly the weirdest film to come out of Tim Burton’s warped imagination, and that’s saying something, “Mars Attacks” is a spoof on old B sci-fi movies, complete with bony, cackling, big brained aliens from Mars coming to Earth and wiping out humanity with colorful death rays. It features many throwbacks to old B movies, not to mention an all-star cast, and while this comedic sci-fi offering may be an acquired taste that you either get or you won’t, it’s definitely one film you won’t forget anytime soon.

Red Planet (2000) Director: Antony Hoffman IMDB: 5.7

Val Kilmer and Carrie Anne Moss star in this quasi-horror movie about astronauts sent to investigate why the bio-engineered algae that interplanetary missions have been using to seed Mars appears to have suddenly disappeared. The landing team’s craft is then damaged, leaving the small crew to complete the task all within the stifling constraints of a limited supply of time, fuel and oxygen. This PG-13 thriller/horror grossed just $33 million worldwide of its $80 million, and while it has received some critical reviews, it still presents an interesting and suspenseful tale of scientists trying to think out of the box as their chances of survival grows smaller and smaller every minute.

Mission to Mars (2000) Director: Brian De Palma IMDB: 5.6

This movie is the end result of when you mix a great cast, stellar visuals and a blatant mixture of random, last-minute entry ideas that don’t exactly piece together well, but still look good in the end. The plot involves a rescue mission sent to Mars in order to investigate the catastrophic disappearance of the first mission after reporting a mysterious structure. The gorgeous visuals make up most of this film’s appeal, while its plotline is reminiscent of many other classic space exploration movies, and in a lot of ways, is a mix of “The Martian,” “2001: A Space Odyssey” and “Interstellar”.

The Last Days On Mars (2013) Director: Ruairí Robinson IMDB: 5.5

Going back to the whole “Monsters on Mars” angle, “Last Days” involves a space crew exploring the Red Planet and stumbling into a large crevice; unearthing a deadly lifeform that puts every member of the crew at deadly risk and causes a very familiar struggle for survival. This is a by the numbers Mars movie that does what it does well, especially as far as storytelling methods, atmospherics and casting quality is concerned, but unfortunately it takes no risks in the process and just comes off as one of the more forgettable and less distinguished trips to Mars.

Doom (2005) Director: Andrzej Bartkowiak IMDB: 5.2

Based upon the first-person shooter game of the same title, Doom is the most video game type movie you will ever see. It takes us on a wild-and-scary-ride around a scientific facility after The Rock/Dwayne Johnson, Karl Urban and other members of the search-and-rescue team travel to Mars to stop a viral outbreak that turns people into hideous monsters. While this movie has been panned by many critics as being a straightforward, shoot ‘em up monster movie that is too silly to be taken seriously, other movie buffs have described “Doom” as an entertaining, reasonably suspenseful sci-fi action movie that is chock-full of B-movie goodness.

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The best Mars movies of all time

The red planet has never felt closer, as filmmakers continue to hammer down on what a future would look like on Mars. The planet is millions of miles away, but it seems to inch towards Earth with each blockbuster and independent film dedicated to Mars, mostly focused on how humans could learn to live on the desolate planet. There are so many movies centered around Mars that it could be difficult to discern between the good ones and the bad ones. We’re here to help, picking out the best Mars movies to envelop your spaced senses. For the titles on a streaming service, we’ve included a link, while others may warrant a search the size of an interstellar mission.

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Stranded (2001), mars needs moms (2011), doom (2005), the angry red planet (1959), mars: one day on the red planet (2020), total recall (1990), mars attacks (1996), john carter (2012), editors' recommendations.

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Michileen Martin has written about pop culture in general and comics in particular for two decades. His work has appeared in numerous sites including Looper, PopMatters, Popdose, and nerdbastards.com . He probably knows more about the Incredible Hulk than you.

Holden is a writer with a focus on streaming service guides. He has also written content for Screen Rant and FanSided and is eagerly anticipating every Star Wars series set to debut in the coming years.

Although it may have one of the highest subscriber counts of all streaming services, the best Amazon Prime Video original series often go under the radar compared to originals of other platforms. The recent success of Fallout has helped put Prime Video back in the conversation, however, just in time for two of its most popular shows to return for new seasons.

This month, superhero carnage fest The Boys returns for season 4 on June 13, while sci-fi drama Outer Range and Stephen Merchant crime comedy series The Outlaws both released new seasons in May. Read on for the best Amazon Prime Video original series available now. We’ve also rounded up the best Netflix original series and the best Hulu original series if Prime Video doesn’t have the originals you’re looking for.

Max is an accessible streaming platform thanks to hosting some of the best movies available. While the impressive amount of content available is a plus, the variety in its catalog is the streamer's best asset.

Any fan will find something to pique their interest, with Max's library ranging from fantasy and superheroes to comedies and sci-fi. Still, the amount of content available can be overwhelming to new subscribers. Thankfully, this monthly updated guide focuses on the service's recent hits to highlight some of the best movies on Max right now.

Streaming services provide thousands of movies for consumers to watch every month. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, and Max are some of the top streaming services on the market. However, these services have monthly fees. If you subscribe to all four services, then it will cost you a pretty penny. If you're looking for alternative streaming options, try YouTube, which offers free movies with ads.

YouTube does not have the expansive libraries that Netflix or Max boast. However, YouTube offers many films in multiple genres, including drama, comedy, action, adventure, thriller, and horror. To help guide your choice, we curated a list of the best free movies to watch on YouTube this month. Looking for more stuff you can watch for free? Check out our guides to the best free shows on YouTube and the best sites for watching free movies online.

Here are 5 Mars-themed movies worth watching tonight

— Recommendations are independently chosen by Reviewed’s editors. Purchases you make through our links may earn us a commission.

Countless Americans watched with awe as NASA’s latest robotic explorer, the Perseverance rover, landed safely on Mars earlier today. While you might not be on a mission to Mars personally, you can still make a sojourn to the Red Planet without ever ditching your sweats (or more importantly, leaving the couch), courtesy of these five movies streaming now on major platforms like Hulu and Disney+ .

From green-suited space invaders firing ray guns to survival sagas pitting man against an inhospitable wilderness, these movies about Mars are an absolute must-watch for anyone who's still got space travel on the mind tonight. 

1.  Mars Attacks!  (Hulu)

If Martians actually landed on Earth, would they be friends... or foes? In Tim Burton's uproarious 1996 science-fiction comedy Mars Attacks! , we figure out the answer pretty quickly. This mega-hit, inspired by Burton's love of 50's-era space movies, features a star-studded cast, including Jack Nicholson, Annette Bening, Danny DeVito and so many others. 

To catch this flick, head on over to Hulu . Subscriptions start at $5.99 per month for an ad-supported plan, or you can opt to go ad-free for $11.99 per month. If you've been meaning to check out Disney+, you can get both (plus ESPN) as part of a  value bundle , with prices starting at $12.99 per month. (P.S., Because Disney+ is raising its prices in March 2021, it's a great idea to sign up now, so you can avoid higher fees later.)

Sign up for Hulu starting at $5.99 per month

2. Total Recall (Netflix and Hulu)

Total Recall— the science-fiction blockbuster loosely based on Philip K. Dick's short story, We Can Remember It for You Wholesale— is available on two streaming platforms right now. On Netflix , you can watch the 1990 version starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, and if go to Hulu , you can catch the 2012 remake, which starred Colin Farrell. 

While the 1990 film is the best-known (and lets face it, most loved) version, there are reasons to appreciate the 2012 remake, too, although unlike the original flick, it's set on a future dystopian Earth, not Mars. With the 2012 remake, you'll need to sign up for the  Hulu + STARZ add-on , and new subscribers can get it starting from $4.50 per month on top of the basic $5.99 per month Hulu subscription. 

• Sign up for Netflix starting at $8.99 per month
• Sign up for Hulu + STARZ add-on starting at $10.49 per month  

3. John Carter (Disney+)

Inspired by  A Princess of Mars , the first novel in Edgar Rice Burroughs' legendary Barsoom  series, John Carter  is an action-packed thrill ride that envisions an alternate version of Mars wherein two major cities on the planet are locked in an epic, thousand-year war. Taylor Kitsch and Willem Dafoe head up a star-studded cast, and the script—which was co-authored by Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Michael Chabon—is a pure treat for fans of the genre. 

You can stream this 2012 film on Disney+ right now. New subscribers can sign up for the service for $6.99 per month or $69.99 per year. Another option? You can get it as part of a value bundle with ESPN+ and Hulu starting at $12.99 a month. Just remember, Disney+ is raising its prices in March 2021, so it's better to sign up for this package now if you want a cheaper rate.

Sign up for Disney+ starting at $6.99 per month

4.  The Martian (Hulu + Live TV)

Based on author Andy Weir's best-selling novel of the same name, The Martian  chronicles one astronaut (Matt Damon) and his harrowing struggle to survive on the Red Planet against all the odds. Director Ridley Scott also directed the iconic science-fiction horror film Alien (1979) and Blade Runner (1982), a neo-noir set in a fictional, dystopian-era Los Angeles. 

You can stream The Martian right now through  Hulu + Live TV , which is a little bit different from a standard Hulu subscription, but you're getting a lot of bang for your buck. The service delivers full access to the platform's entire streaming library, as well as more than 65 channels, for $65 per month. On the fence? No problem. You can also sign up for a free 7-day trial .

Sign up for Hulu + Live TV for $65 per month

5.  Mission to Mars (Prime Video)

When an exploratory trip to the Red Planet goes horribly awry, it's up to a team led by an American astronaut (Gary Sinise) to head up rescue efforts. Inspired by Disney's theme park attraction of the same name, Mission to Mars  is a visually stunning film by director Brian De Palma, an auteur best known for crime dramas like Scarface (1983) and The Untouchables (1987). While it's not available on major streaming platforms right now, you can get this flick—which was released in 2000—on Amazon Prime Video from $3.99. 

Rent on Amazon Video for $3.99

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Total Recall

• TriStar Pictures

15 Mars Movies That Prove The Red Planet Is Even More Dangerous Than It Looks

Appearing in cycles, depending on its location relative to our own planet, Mars is often one of the brightest objects in the night sky. As such, it has long fascinated astronomers, stargazers, and science fiction writers . In the 1950s, when alien invasion movies were big business, Mars was the default place to have your bug-eyed monsters come from, to such an extent that "Martian" became a catch-all term for just about any alien.

As one of the closest planets to Earth, Mars was bound to be the setting for any number of science fiction films. Indeed, movies about trips to the red planet are almost as old as the artform of cinema itself. One of the earliest cinematic depictions of Mars comes in a four-minute short subject from 1910 called  A Trip to Mars , which depicts a man using "antigravity powder" to fly to the red planet, where he encounters unfriendly Martians. Years later, we've sent uncrewed flights to Mars and gotten a look at its surface thanks to rovers, but we're still making movies about what dangers might be waiting for us when we finally step onto the red planet for the first time...

The Martian

• 20th Century Fox

Set in 2035, Ridley Scott's 2015 survival drama about an astronaut stranded on the surface of Mars earned a whopping seven Academy Award nominations, including best picture - though it didn't actually win any of them.

Nevertheless, this harrowing story of survival follows an astronaut played by Matt Damon who is left for dead on the surface of Mars after his suit is damaged during a dust storm. With no way to let NASA know that he's alive, he has to survive on his own, growing potatoes inside the habitat that the mission had set up on the planet, and trying to find a way to signal to Earth, or else wait four years for the next Mars mission to arrive.

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Dutch director Paul Verhoeven followed up the success of his 1987 classic  RoboCop  with another science fiction film, the 1990 adaptation of Philip K. Dick's sci-fi story, "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale." The result was  Total Recall , an extremely weird flick in which a man (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) discovers that he's maybe actually a secret agent who was previously working on the surface of a colonized Mars.

Through a series of red herrings, false memories, and misdirects, he eventually encounters plots and counter-plots revolving around a rebellion among the humans living on the red planet, many of them having been mutated due to inadequate radiation shielding, and machinations by the planet's nefarious chancellor, played by  RoboCop 's Ronny Cox. The film nabbed an Academy Award for best visual effects.

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Mission to Mars

• Buena Vista Pictures

Directed by no less thriller royalty than Brian De Palma,  Mission to Mars  nevertheless received largely negative reviews when it was first released in 2000. Set in 2020, the film depicts the first crewed mission to Mars (remember that), which goes disastrously awry after the landing party discovers a giant statue of a humanoid face on the surface of the planet.

Months later, a rescue mission (crewed by a handful of big names like Gary Sinise and Tim Robbins) returns to the surface of the red planet to try to find out what happened to the previous mission, and bring back any survivors. What they find - in a phantasmagorical ending sequence of early-2000s CGI - is a dizzying, if not terribly original, idea of the origins of life on Earth, and an extraterrestrial link in humanity's evolution.

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John Carter

• Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Few writers have ever been as inextricably linked to Mars as Edgar Rice Burroughs, creator of Tarzan. Yet, despite the  vast  number of times that Tarzan has reached screens over the years, Burroughs's Martian stories, starring John Carter, a former Confederate soldier turned hero of Mars - or Barsoom, as its natives know it - have been translated to film  far  less often. One of the only times the John Carter stories made it to the screen was in this 2012 feature, part of a planned trilogy. Considered one of the most expensive movies ever made, this swashbuckling tale of adventure on the surface of a strange world populated by four-armed giants and surprisingly human-looking Martians struggled to recoup its budget, and any plans for future sequels were scuttled, probably forever.

Who knows, though, perhaps in another few decades, we'll see a new John Carter adventuring across Barsoom once again...

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The Martian Chronicles

When it comes to classic science fiction novels about Mars, few have influenced the way we view the red planet as much as Ray Bradbury's 1950 opus,  The Martian Chronicles .

The book was adapted into a TV miniseries in 1980, written by none other than Richard Matheson and starring Rock Hudson, among others. Spanning nearly five hours and shown across three nights in January 1980, the miniseries adapts several of Bradbury's stories of the planet, showing human encounters with Martians, the establishment of permanent settlements on Mars, and even the annihilation and resettlement of Earth, to name just a few of the dramatic events depicted in the series.

• Warner Bros.

Val Kilmer and Carrie-Anne Moss lead a cast of astronauts who undertake a dangerous mission to Mars in this sci-fi thriller that came out the same year as  Mission to Mars  - during a brief Hollywood love affair with the red planet . It seems that, by the year 2056, the Earth is facing a severe ecological crisis (see, we have something to look forward to!) and the astronauts hope to find an answer to the problem on Mars, which has been seeded with algae as the first step in a terraforming mission.

Unfortunately, the algae has recently begun to disappear, so the all-star team heads to the red planet to see what's up. Along the way, they run into a variety of snags, including a downed lander, a damaged artificial habitat, and a dog-like mapping and exploration robot that goes rogue, attacking the members of the crew. Do they also find the answers that they seek? Guess you'll just have to watch to find out...

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Ghosts of Mars

• Screen Gems

Horror legend John Carpenter's penultimate feature film as a director - at least so far - is this oft-maligned oddity that is, in many ways, a retread of one of his earliest features,  Assault on Precinct 13 . However, in this case, the attack takes place on Mars, and the individuals doing the attacking have become possessed by the eponymous "ghosts" - the leftover remnants of the planet's former inhabitants - which drive them to acts of self-mutilation and vicious barbarism. Notable for any number of reasons, including the fact that its villains are, essentially, Reavers from  Firefly (even though that show wouldn't hit the air until the following year),  Ghosts of Mars  may be a relatively minor work in Carpenter's canon, but it's still a fascinating reminder that the red planet is something we should maybe leave alone.

It's also worth noting that  Ghosts of Mars  not only features Ice Cube and Pam Grier, but also includes an early-career performance from Jason Statham.

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• Universal Pictures

When a cinematic adaptation of the legendary first-person shooter game series  Doom  finally hit screens in 2005, it had undergone considerable changes from the source material, but one thing remained (mostly) the same, and that was the film's setting on Mars. (Many of the video games, as well as the film's eventual 2019 sequel/reboot,  Doom: Annihilation , actually take place on the Martian moons, Deimos and Phobos.)

For one thing, the antagonists in this cinematic  Doom  were no longer demons, but rather the human residents of the Martian base, having mutated after being injected with an extra chromosome, recovered from the remains of ancient Martians. The flick, which stars Karl Urban, Rosamund Pike, and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, nevertheless features plenty of weird creatures, not to mention an extended "first-person" sequence, helmed by special effects supervisor Jon Farhat.

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Cowboy Bebop: The Movie

• Samuel Goldwyn Films

The feature-film version of the popular Japanese anime series takes place on Mars, where a terrorist strike has begun spreading a dangerous new pathogen just days before Halloween. As the crew members of the spaceship  Bebop  each follow different trails to try to find the culprit, they are in a race against time, as the villain aims to set off a much larger assault during the Halloween parade on the red planet, decimating the population of Mars with the bio-engineered weapon.

Fans of the hit series, which was renowned for its music, dialogue, animation, and storytelling, were likely happy to see pretty much the entire cast and crew back for the feature film, which was a hit in both its native country and with international audiences.

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The Last Days on Mars

• Magnolia Pictures

These days, it seems like we've had zombies just about everyplace else - in the snow, under the water, in  Pride and Prejudice  - so why not a movie with zombies on Mars? Enter this 2013 sci-fi horror flick, which concerns the eight-person crew of a small Mars research base as they near the end of their mission. When one of their number finds biological samples in the Martian soil, they unwittingly become exposed to a fungal lifeform that transforms them into fast, aggressive, zombie-like creatures.

As the survivors attempt to escape and avoid becoming infected, those who have already turned hunt them down, picking them off one by one. The beats are pretty standard for a zombie movie, but you've never seen them transported to the red planet before...

Robinson Crusoe on Mars

• Paramount Pictures

Decades before Matt Damon played an astronaut stranded on the red planet, there was  Robinson Crusoe on Mars . Loosely adapted from the 1719 novel  Robinson Crusoe , which tells the story of the eponymous castaway, who lives for 28 years on a deserted island, this 1964 film was directed by Byron Haskin. Haskin had previously brought Martians to Earth when he directed the 1953 version of  War of the Worlds , and here he flips the script, stranding an astronaut on Mars with, initially, only a monkey for company.

Cut off from his orbiting spacecraft, this futuristic Crusoe must find a way to survive the inhospitable Martian surface while he awaits rescue - and that's not taking into account the even greater threats the planet holds in store for him...

Terra Formars

What do you get when you hand Takashi Miike - one of Japan's most celebrated and most notorious directors - free rein to make a bonkers sci-fi movie about a group of misfits and crooks venturing to Mars to exterminate the cockroaches that were sent there 500 years before as part of a terraforming process? One entirely off-the-rails movie, for starters. It seems that, in the ensuing five centuries, the cockroaches have evolved into giant, human-sized bugs with incredible strength and speed, who have no interest in being exterminated. Oh, and there are thousands and thousands of them - so many that they eventually come in huge waves.

Fortunately, the would-be exterminators have an ace up their sleeve - the DNA of various terrestrial insects, which they can inject themselves with in order to gain their own superhuman powers, akin to those exhibited by the insects in question. The result is a brash, violent, weirdo take on a super sentai show, as only Miike could deliver.

The Angry Red Planet

• American International Pictures

Ib Melchior's 1959 flick was filmed in just nine days with a budget of only around $200,000. The result was an odd film that looks nothing like any other, thanks in no small part to producer Norman Maurer's "Cinemagic" process, which combined living actors with hand-drawn animation to produce many of the film's special effects. This process also meant that a red filter was placed over all the scenes taking place on Mars.

The film is a retroactive telling of a disastrous trip to Mars, in which two of the four crew members are slain, while the third returns with a strange, alien growth on his arm. On the surface of the planet, they encounter a variety of peculiar life forms, including a carnivorous plant, a giant amoeba, and the rat/bat/spider/crab made infamous on the film's poster art. The film ends with a warning from the planet, suggesting that any future attempts to land there would be seen as invasions, and would be met with the annihilation of Earth.

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• IFC Midnight

Starring Soufia Boutella and Jonny Lee Miller, this 2021 science fiction drama tells the story of a small family living in a lonely outpost on Mars. The family patriarch is slain by a bandit who then chooses to move in and take his place, demanding time to prove himself. The conflicts engendered by his forcing his way into their small and isolated life slowly come to the fore as each member of the remaining family reacts to the newcomer in their own way, leading to a violent and grisly denouement.

The film premiered in June 2021 at the Tribeca Film Festival and has since been released by IFC Midnight.

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• # 62 of 84 on The 80+ Best Sci-Fi Drama Movies, Ranked
• # 64 of 90 on The 80+ Best Sci-Fi Thrillers, Ranked

Aelita: Queen of Mars

• Film Arts Guild

One of the earliest feature films to depict space travel - let alone the surface of Mars - this Soviet-era silent film from 1924 is known today for its weird constructivist sets and fanciful costumes, which had a huge impact on the way the future and alien worlds were depicted on-screen for decades to come. It deals with an engineer who ventures to the red planet, there meeting the queen and engaging in a worker uprising that ultimately comes to a bad end.

The fact that all of this may have actually been a layered daydream, in which the frustrated engineer takes out his anger on his wife and those who have wronged him, while also imagining a more exciting and glamorous life on the surface of Mars, prefigures later films like  Total Recall , in which the science-fictional planet takes on the mythical nature of our repressed subconscious.

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Exploring the many ways space, space travels, and extraterrestrial life are depicted in film, TV, literature, anime, comics, and technology.

10 great films about space travel

To infinity and beyond... Celebrate 60 years of human spaceflight with our countdown of awe-inspiring space movies.

Since its earliest days, cinema has been fascinated by the idea of space travel. Some 67 years before Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, Georges Méliès took audiences there with 1902’s Le Voyage dans la lune. Considered cinema’s first sci-fi, Méliès’ film sees explorers crash into Earth’s closest neighbour in a rocket shot out of a cannon, and then proceed to do battle with the insectoid inhabitants.

Today, with the benefit of another century-plus of scientific understanding, the space film looks very different. Space travel in the movies is constantly evolving. In the space race era, space movies looked forward to a utopian future. In the 70s, a murkier vision reflective of growing real-world social and political distress took hold. And then, post-Star Wars, a more fantastical and action-packed take on life in space became the norm.

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In the last decade, cinema’s view of space travel has shifted again. While the Guardians of the Galaxy movies and reboots of the Star Trek and Star Wars franchises have emphasised the adventure, many others, including Gravity (2013) and The Martian (2015), have addressed the potential perils of space travel becoming more commonplace in an age of renewed exploration. Meanwhile, an increasing number of films, among them Interstellar (2014) and this year’s upcoming Voyagers, are asking whether, if humankind exhausts the Earth, we might find a new home on a planet B.

The same basic curiosity, however, endures from the days of Méliès: what are we going to find out there among the stars? And how might the answers change the way we see the world – or ourselves?

Ikarie  XB -1 (1963)

Director: Jindrich Polák

Made in a period when a limitless future was typically imagined for extraterrestrial travel, one in which food would be magically plentiful and no star system would be too distant, Ikarie XB -1 injected some scientific and psychological realism into the space film. Adapted from Stanislaw Lem’s novel The Magellanic Cloud, Czech director Jindrich Polák’s film finds a crew travelling at light speed to a potentially life-harbouring white planet orbiting Alpha Centauri.

Although resources and leisure time are ample aboard the Ikarie, the journey is not without consequence. The trip will seem like 28 months to the crew, but the nature of relativity means their loved ones will be 15 years older when they return to Earth. Meanwhile, cabin fever (and a heavy dose of space radiation) brings some crew members to the edge of sanity. Ikarie XB -1 was a clear influence on 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), with Stanley Kubrick calling it “a half step up from your average science fiction film” – which amounts to a ringing endorsement from the perfectionist filmmaker.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Director: Stanley Kubrick

A film that showed what was possible in sci-fi cinema, Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 continues to be a touchstone for any picture that deals in space exploration. The story was a result of almost two years of intensive discussions between Kubrick and his co-writer, sci-fi novelist Arthur C. Clarke, and it took even longer to execute, with the director beginning filming in December 1965 and only finalising the film’s effects in March 1968.

Whether it’s a commercial flight to the moon or a classified long-range mission to Jupiter, 2001 luxuriates in its space sequences, majestic ballets of sound and movement set to classical music. Stanley Kubrick might famously never have won a best director Oscar, but he did take home one Academy Award, for 2001’s visual effects – and rightfully so. More than half a century on, the film’s depiction of space travel – realised practically through a combination of model work, huge sets and precise photographic projection – remains flawless.

Silent Running (1972)

Director: Douglas Trumbull

Some time in the future, Earth has become a climate-controlled utopia, free of disease and poverty. But it’s one which apparently has so little use left for nature that its last forests are now kept in geodesic domes orbiting Saturn. On the ship Valley Forge, botanist Freeman Lowell (Bruce Dern) obsessively tends to three of these vast gardens when the order comes in to destroy them – an order Lowell disobeys by murdering the rest of the crew and piloting the ship out into deep space.

There’s a hangover of 1960s idealism to Silent Running. 2001 effects supervisor Douglas Trumbull’s directorial debut includes flower-power interludes featuring music by Joan Baez, while a multicoloured trip through Saturn’s rings has shades of an acid experience. The overriding tone, though, is one of new 1970s pessimism. Ultimately, Lowell‘s environmentalist dream sours, the peace he initially finds out in the cosmos soon giving way to loneliness and guilt over his killing for a fruitless ‘greater good’.

Star Wars (1977)

Director: George Lucas

Although sci-fi cinema generally went in a more mature direction in the 1970s, George Lucas’s empire-building third feature took a refreshingly opposite approach. Opening on an epic battle among the stars and climaxing with an even bigger one, Star Wars would present a universe where man (and Wookiee) has mastered space travel, with a quick leap from one habitable planet to the next possible at the mere push of a button.

Taking inspiration from pre-space race pulp sci-fi comics and film serials, Star Wars pays no mind to real physical or existential concerns about space travel. “Star Wars is a fantasy, much closer to the Brothers Grimm than it is to 2001…The word for this movie is fun,” said Lucas at the time. Still, not even this proto-blockbuster could totally escape the influence of the 70s, with its beat-up freighters and junky ship interiors suggesting a more hardscrabble life in space than Flash Gordon ever knew.

Alien (1979)

Director: Ridley Scott

By the time Ridley Scott made this landmark sci-fi horror, space travel had become so routine in the movies it seemed almost anyone could do it. In Alien, the astronauts are blue-collar types complaining about bonuses and food. Their latest job is towing 20 million tonnes of mineral ore back to Earth. It’s only the threat of suspension of wages that convinces the crew of the Nostromo to make their fateful detour to a nearby ‘primordial’ moon, from which they unwittingly bring back to the ship the universe’s deadliest apex predator.

From there, Scott’s film becomes a spacebound haunted house picture, as H.R. Giger’s nightmarish xenomorph eliminates the crew one by one. Alien would be followed by a number of sequels, prequels and regrettable franchise crossovers, with all but one of them set primarily on terra firma. What makes the original so uniquely frightening is how impossible escape seems for its protagonists: what awaits the crew beyond the confines of the ship is no less hostile to them than their ravenous intruder.

Apollo 13 (1995)

Director: Ron Howard

Released in a fallow period for the space movie, Apollo 13 is itself about a period in which, post-Neil Armstrong, space travel had suddenly become passé to a world preoccupied with problems on the ground. In Ron Howard’s telling of 1970’s doomed Apollo 13 adventure, it isn’t until astronauts Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks), Fred Haise (Bill Paxton) and Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon) find themselves in mortal danger on their way home from an aborted moon landing that the TV networks even start giving the mission any airtime.

Made just years before CGI would become de rigueur for the space movie, Apollo 13 is an impressively practical spectacle. Bolstered by digital effects, the film makes extensive use of spacecraft miniatures and replica sets. Most impressively, to achieve scenes of weightlessness, Howard shot aboard the so-called ‘Vomit Comet’, a modified NASA training aircraft that – for 20 seconds at a time – would place the actors in a simulated zero-G environment.

Sunshine (2007)

Director: Danny Boyle

To save Earth from the chill of a solar winter, a crack team of scientists are despatched to the heart of our solar system on a flying bomb named Icarus II (the first Icarus having become lost after it flew literally too close to the sun). Their mission: to nuke our dying star back to life. Sunshine may have the absurd premise of a Michael Bay movie, but it also has the combined scientific and philosophical imagination of screenwriter Alex Garland and science advisor Brian Cox.

What happens when a crew of diverse credos and fallibilities embarks on a long-distance space voyage? A clash of passion and pragmatism leads to regular fights between sensitive physicist Capa (Cillian Murphy) and surly engineer Mace (Chris Evans). A miscalculation by navigator Trey (Benedict Wong) destroys biologist Corazon’s (Michelle Yeoh) precious oxygen garden, leaving him suicidal and her bereft. Faced with the desolate blackness of endless space, some crew members fall under the spell of the blazing sun. But where one sees a merciless, overwhelming celestial body, another finds God.

First Man (2018)

Director: Damien Chazelle

Following Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) from his days as a test pilot through NASA training to his historic walk on the moon, First Man is a twofer: a dramatisation of the space race from the American side as well as a revisionist biopic of a mythical figure. Here the Apollo astronauts are portrayed as everyday suburban joes – husbands and fathers whose unique attributes allowed them to do remarkable things in their time, with Armstrong the most ordinary of the bunch.

Similarly deglamorised are the recreations of historic NASA space flights, which situate the viewer inside the cockpit from Armstrong’s point-of-view and depict early spacecraft as shockingly primitive, all creaking metal and analogue tech. The docu-style brings verisimilitude, but Justin Hurwitz’s ghostly score and some fluid space scenes see there’s also a musical grace to La La Land filmmaker Damien Chazelle’s fourth feature. It’s a poetic film about unpoetic men.

Aniara (2018)

Directors: Pella Kagerman and Hugo Lilja

Released the same year as Claire Denis’ unsettling space oddity High Life, Aniara is that film’s somehow even more despairing cousin. Adapted from Harry Martinson’s epic poem, Pella Kagerman and Hugo Lilja’s film traps the viewer inside a luxurious civilian transport meant for Mars but which – following an accident – is left cruising through space, rudderless and without any way to turn around.

In time, the micro-society on board the Aniara disintegrates, High-Rise-style, with passengers first embracing hedonism and cultish new religions. Then, as resources and hope of salvation both dwindle, they succumb to despair. This is one of a number of sci-fi films this century to depict mass space transportation gone horribly awry, but where Aniara differs from the likes of Pandorum (2009) or Alien: Covenant (2017) is that its horror is entirely existential. So many films about space travel end with characters triumphing over harsh odds and ultimately finding meaning in the void. Not this one.

Ad Astra (2019)

Director: James Gray

Ad Astra is a sci-fi Heart of Darkness that is, in essence, another contemplative drama about one of director James Gray’s trademark troubled men. In this case, the customary angst and father issues go to an astronaut in the shape of a never-more-fragile Brad Pitt. On a mission from US Space Command, Pitt’s Major Roy McBride planet-hops through a solar system in the early stages of colonisation to track down daddy Tommy Lee Jones, a brilliant scientist last heard from 16 years prior, circling Neptune.

Gray’s lonely, cynical vision of late 21st-century space as a commercialised wild west makes for a spectacular backdrop to a tale of familial discord. In this future, you’ll find a branch of Subway on the moon and audiovisual displays made to simulate the wonder of Earth inside Mars’ underground bunkers. You’ll also find warring tribes figuring out new ways to kill each other in a low-gravity environment. On Earth or in space, in Ad Astra humans continue to be stubbornly human.

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From Interstellar to Hidden Figures: 12 of the best space movies

Interstellar, Moon, Proxima, Alien, Hidden Figures... From science fiction to biographical drama, does your favourite movie about space make our list?

By Simon Ings

3 August 2021

Matthew McConaughey in Interstellar

Melinda Sue Gordon/©Paramount/c

There are so many great movies about space that it’s hard to choose between them all, but that won’t stop us. We’ve got some in our selection that will keep you on the edge of your seat while others will keep you hidden behind the sofa. Here are 12 of the best space movies.

Interstellar (2014)

Explorers arrive on a world covered in knee-high water. Distant “mountains” come sweeping towards them: a planet-spanning kilometres-high killer tide. They escape, only for an unhinged astronaut to maroon them, a little later, on a solid airborne cloud of exotic ice.

Often silly, sometimes truly visionary, Interstellar is the best rejoinder the 21st century has yet made to Stanley Kubrick’s seminal 2001: A Space Odyssey . Matthew McConaughey plays Joseph Cooper, a widowed NASA pilot who is called upon to journey into interstellar space to find an Earthlike “Planet B” for us to move to, now that the Earth’s food system is collapsing. Jessica Chastain plays his grown-up daughter, haunted by her father’s ghost.

Their performances carry real conviction, but it is the set pieces that matter. Gargantua, a spinning black hole that provides the film with its climax, is a visual effect calculated so accurately by physicist Kip Thorne and rendered so meticulously by London effects studio Double Negative, it ended up in a paper for the journal Classical and Quantum Gravity .

Years earlier, Thorne and film producer Lynda Obst had conceived of a movie exploring what, in an interview with Science magazine , Thorne called “the warped side of the universe – black holes, wormholes, higher dimensions, and so forth”. They’re the subject of Thorne’s very entertaining book The Science of Interstellar .

Nolan, meanwhile, has gone on to make movies of increasing complexity. Tenet is his latest, doing for time what Interstellar did for space.

Moon (2009)

Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) is preparing to leave the moon at the end of his three-year stint as sole supervisor of a helium-3 mine. (Robert Zubrin’s book Entering Space gave Duncan Jones the film’s industrial premise.) But Sam is also trapped in the carcass of a crashed lunar ore conveyor. And as Sam and Sam wrestle with their inexplicable meeting, they must solve an obvious and pressing puzzle: just how many more Sams might there be?

Offered a low-budget British sci-fi movie by a first-time director , Rockwell left things until the last minute, then grabbed at the chance of playing against himself. Once on board, his commitment was total: riffing and extemporising off memories of his own performance, he insisted on distinguishing the two Sams more by demeanour than by costume changes. The result is a compelling, emotionally charged thriller, spiked with an inventive mix of effects (from CGI to model work to simple, deft editing) that keeps the audience off-balance throughout the movie. Jones has yet to top his debut work, and Rockwell, for all his subsequent successes, will forever be remembered as the Moon guy(s).

Proxima (2019)

Shot in the European Space Agency’s training facilities in Germany, and in the complex outside Moscow that is home to the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center , Alice Winocour’s third feature Proxima never leaves the ground, and yet it remains an out-of-this-world experience.

Cinematographer Georges Lechaptois brilliantly captures these rarely glimpsed spaces in all their strangeness, banality and occasional dilapidation. One can’t help but think, watching this, that being an astronaut must be like being a professional athlete – one’s glamorous career being conducted, for the most part, in smelly changing rooms.

Plaudits also to Eva Green for her portrayal of Sarah Loreau, a single mother given a last-minute opportunity to join a mission to the International Space Station. Green conveys wonderfully Sarah’s conflicted state of both wanting to go to space but not wanting to be separated from her daughter. The solution is there but it’s going to be hard to forge, and Green’s performance is heart-rending.

Alien (1979)

Sigourney Weaver plays Ripley, member of a sensible and resourceful space-going cargo crew whose capabilities are going to prove of no use whatsoever as they confront a predatory, stowaway alien.

Critics loved Alien : they said it would change how we thought about science fiction. It also, for some of us who caught it at the right age, changed how we thought about biology.

We have been an apex predator for so long, we have forgotten the specialness of our privilege. Alien reminds us of what the natural world is really like. It locates us in the middle of things, not without resources but most definitely not at the top of a food chain. It reminds us that living processes are predatory – that life is about tearing living things apart to get at their raw material.

Alien in Alien

AA Film Archive / Alamy

The clumsily named “xenomorph” of the Alien movies has an infamous life cycle, loosely based on those of certain parasitic wasps, but with the added ingredient of plasticity. A hugged human brings forth a humanoid alien. A hugged dog produces a canine. (Where the aquatic aliens of Alien: Resurrection (1997) spring from is anyone’s guess.)

If you want to know what Darwin said, read On the Origin of Species . But if you want to know how it must have made its original readers feel – go watch Alien .

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

When Stanley Kubrick suggested a movie idea to British writer Arthur Clarke, Clarke responded enthusiastically. “The ‘really good’ science-fiction movie is a great many years overdue,” he wrote.

The question – which the two never really resolved – was which really good movie to make. A film about the triumph of science and technology? Or a film about the timeless yearnings of the human spirit?

While Kubrick, a student of human nature, director of searing and discomforting films like Paths of Glory and Lolita , mined Japanese sci-fi movies for special effects, Clarke, a communications satellite pioneer as well as a writer, worked up a script centred on what he later dubbed “the God concept”.

Encompassing everything from the dawn of man, the space race, artificial intelligence, space exploration and trans-dimensional travel, 2001 centres on the duel between David Bowman (Keir Dullea) and the inadvertently-designed-to-be-murderous HAL, a computer that is guiding his ship to Jupiter. We tend to assume Clarke provided the film’s gosh-wow factor and Kubrick provided the unease. Not so: his 1960 story, The Challenge of the Spaceship shows Clarke already painfully aware of the challenges faced by a “little, self-contained community floating in vacuum millions of miles from anywhere, kept alive in a bubble of plastic and metal” with “absolutely nothing” happening.

The boredom and incipient madness that haunt both Bowman and the ship’s poor, boxed-in AI are the film’s chief point: that we cannot live by reason alone. We need something more.

Hidden Figures (2016)

At NASA’s Langley Research Center in 1961, three Black female mathematicians, Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughn (Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe) , contribute their considerable mathematical ability to the agency’s efforts to launch white men into space. The unit they work in is segregated by gender and race but the difficulties they face are ignored by many of their colleagues. Their boss, Al Harrison, (a composite fictional character played by Kevin Costner), feels otherwise and proceeds to desegregate NASA single-handedly, armed only with an acid tongue and a sledgehammer.

The film is loosely based on 2016 book of the same name by Margot Lee Shetterly, although it takes a less factual approach. For example, the film delays Johnson’s pioneering work by a good decade so that she can share feel-good moments with the other female cast members .

Whether that matters comes down to personal taste. It is no small thing that, thanks to this film, we now know Johnson, Vaughn and Jackson by name .

Apollo 13 (1995)

On 11 April 1970, a seventh crewed mission in the Apollo space programme launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was due to land in the Fra Mauro crater, and help establish the early history of both the moon and Earth.

Two days into the journey, an oxygen tank in the spacecraft’s service module exploded, and their flight path was changed to loop them around the moon and bring them back to Earth on 17 April. Dizzy from carbon dioxide levels in the air, mounting at a rate they thought would kill them, soaking wet from all the condensation, cold because power was now severely limited, and with only plastic bags of their own urine for company they couldn’t jettison for fear this would alter their course, commander Jim Lovell, command module pilot Jack Swigert and Lunar Module pilot Fred Haise uttered hardly a word of complaint. Incredibly, they survived.

For his script, director Ron Howard has added one argument between Swigert (Kevin Bacon) and Haise (Bill Paxton) and otherwise changed barely a word of the official Apollo 13 transcript. Tom Hanks plays Lovell as a capable man dealing with a crisis. There are no epiphanies. Souls aren’t searched. For some, this might make for a slightly muted experience. But this painstakingly accurate film (the sets included bits of the Apollo 13 command module; even the actors’ pressure suits were airtight) remains peerless, utterly convincing in every shot and every gesture .

First Man (2018)

As if landing on the moon wasn’t enough, Neil Armstrong spent the rest of his life having to describe the experience to the world’s media. No wonder he became something of a recluse – which of course only served to generate even more media interest.

Armstrong, an aeronautical engineer and university professor, was a man who enjoyed his privacy. Cornered, what could he do but tell the same story again and again and again? Disappointed, their curiosity unslaked, people called him dull.

Two years after hurling a vocally challenged Ryan Gosling into his musical La La Land , Damien Chazelle cast him as Neil Armstrong, in a movie that promised to locate Armstrong’s beating heart and rich emotional life. As such, First Man is a triumph.

Gosling is the film actors’ film actor, capable of expressing deep emotion with astounding economy. Playing “buttoned up” hampers him hardly at all. And he is given plenty to work with. Josh Singer’s ingenious script gives Armstrong a profound and personal motivation for wanting to reach the moon that in no way interferes with the historical record, or trivialises its celebrated subject. As for the moon landing itself, it represents a milestone in cinematic technique. You’ll believe you were there, and you’ll wonder, deeply, why Armstrong, or anyone else for that matter, ever went.

The Right Stuff (1983)

Anchored by powerful performances by Sam Shepard as Chuck Yeager and Ed Harris as John Glenn, Kaufman’s 3-hour-13-minute epic loosely follows Tom Wolfe’s book of the same name: a heart-thumping yet critical account of the earliest US efforts to send humans into space.

What is needed for that is, of course, “the right stuff”: a combination of skill, bravery and a somewhat blood-curdling fearlessness in the face of death. They are qualities superbly embodied in Shepard’s performance as test-pilot Chuck Yeager, the first man to break the sound barrier (and, incidentally, a consultant on the film).

Leaving Earth also needed collaboration, organisation, even – heaven help us – publicity. Ed Harris is the squeaky-clean Glenn, destined to be the first American in space, whose “right stuff” has had its rough edges shaved off by endless classes, tests, magazine profiles and media events.

Historically, The Right Stuff isn’t especially accurate. In particular, Mercury astronauts Wally Schirra, Gordon Cooper and Alan Shepard were critical of the way the film short-changed their compatriot Gus Grissom, who died in the Apollo 1 fire.

Still, it is a thoughtful and intelligent movie, as well as a thrilling one, and it captures very well the moment space travel became a serious, and corporate, enterprise.

The Martian (2015)

Premised on a single, staggering inaccuracy (a Martian storm could never get up the energy to blow a spacecraft over) The Martian is an otherwise cleverly figured-out tale of how an astronaut (Mark Watney, played by Matt Damon), left for dead on the surface of Mars, might survive for four years on a diet of potatoes grown in recycled faecal matter .

Based on a book (by Andy Weir) that itself began life as a series of blog posts, Scott’s film retains an endearing, cobbled-together quality, which neatly (and by the end, really quite movingly) reflects Watney’s scrabble for survival.

Boasting habitat, spacesuit, spacecraft and launch vehicle designs that all carried NASA’s stamp of approval, The Martian flits between Watney’s Martian base, the ship in which his crew mates are returning home, and the offices and control rooms on Earth where everybody is frantically trying to do the right thing, as their chances of saving Watney narrow to a point.

An unashamed advertisement for NASA’s plans for Mars, and a celebration of its crewed programme’s rebirth after the Challenger disaster in 1986, The Martian already feels slightly dated. But its invention and good humour are timeless.

Gravity (2013)

When a cloud of debris travelling faster than a speeding bullet collides with the space shuttle, mission specialist Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) must make their way across gulfs of space on dwindling supplies of air and propellant in search of a vehicle that will take them home; soon the debris cloud will return on its inexorable orbit.

As likely to scare someone off a space career as inspire them to pursue one, Gravity is premised on the idea that low Earth orbit is so crowded with hardware and discarded junk that a collision could initiate a chain reaction known as the Kessler syndrome, and destroy every satellite.

For all that, Gravity is less a science fiction film than a survival film (think Open Water or Touching the Void , both from 2003), and is the last place you would go for a lesson in orbital mechanics. While not quite as egregiously silly as 2019’s Ad Astra (in which Brad Pitt literally leaps through Saturn’s ice rings, using a hatch-cover for an umbrella) Gravity is no 2001 , no Apollo 13 , no First Man .

But while accuracy is one thing; truth is quite another. With Gravity , director Cuarón triumphantly realised his ambition to make the first truly weightless-seeming film, conveying the environment and sensation of zero gravity more powerfully, immediately (and, yes, accurately) than any film-maker, before or since.

October Sky (1999)

NASA engineer Homer H. Hickam Jr.’s autobiography provided the seed for this drama about a teenager coming of age at the dawn of the space race. A 17-year-old Jake Gyllenhaal (he was still taking school classes during the filming) plays Homer, a high school student in Coalwood, West Virginia, when, in 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first human-made satellite.

Inspired by the Soviet achievement, and encouraged by his teacher (Laura Dern), Homer and his fellow “rocket boys” start building their own homemade missiles. Chris Cooper finds gold in the somewhat thankless role of Homer’s father, conscientiously pouring cold water on his son’s dreams: what’s wrong with working in the local coal mine, he’d like to know?

Director Joe Johnston is better known for his rather more gung-ho approaches to heroism and rocket flight. (1991’s Rocketeer is a cult classic; Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) needs no introduction here.)

October Sky is an altogether more contained achievement: the touching story of imagination awakened by the possibilities of rocketry, space travel, and a world beyond Earth.

What do you think of this list? Think there are better space movies out there that deserve a coveted spot? We have review lots of sci-fi films, books and TV shows  but we can’t watch them all so let us know your favourite on  Twitter  and  Facebook . If you enjoyed this you might also want to see what we think are the  best science documentaries ,  top popular science books  and even  video games set on Mars .

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Best space movies

Keep this list of the best space movies handy for the next time you feel the need to escape from the reality of Earth.

The best space movies are beautiful manifestations of human curiosity, because for as long as humans have been around, they have always looked up towards the stars and wondered what mysteries they contained. The heavenly bodies – planets, stars, sun, and moon – have inspired countless tales and legends throughout human history.

Our first cinematic trip to the great blackness above our heads was 1902’s Le Voyage dans le Lune, in which explorers travel to the moon via a particularly powerful cannon. We’ve actually traveled to the moon since then, but that hasn’t diminished our curiosity or love of telling stories that take place among the stars.

The great thing about space movies is they can be anything: comedy, drama, horror. Space is just a setting, a background upon which storytellers can craft whatever kind of tale suits their fancy. The possibilities of space are endless, which is perhaps why so many incredible movies are set there.

This list includes a variety of tones and genres, so if you’re looking for something a bit more specific, check out our list of the best sci-fi movies or the best space horror movies . To narrow the scope of our list, we’ve stuck to English-language movies, so something like the original Solaris (1972) wouldn’t be eligible.

Without further ado, here are our choices for the best space movies of all time.

10. Pitch Black

• Release date: February 18, 2000
• Cast: Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser, Vin Diesel

Before he was obsessed with family and fast cars, Vin Diesel was convicted felon Richard Riddick, one of the few to survive the crash of the spaceship Hunter Gratzner. In what has to be the worst case of bad timing in history, Riddick et al. have landed on a planet about to experience a lengthy darkness during which carnivorous creatures will pour forth from their subterranean homes to wreak bloody havoc on anyone foolish enough to cross their path. 

Finesse is not a word normally associated with Diesel’s acting, but his deft portrayal that elegantly takes Riddick from murderer to hero is surprisingly nuanced.

• Buy Pitch Black on Blu-ray at Amazon

9. Event Horizon

• Release date: August 15, 1997
• Cast: Sam Neill, Laurence Fishburne, Joely Richardson

Where is Hell? Is it another plane of existence or is it an actual place? These are the questions to ponder while viewing the tale of the Event Horizon, a ship created to travel great distances by punching a hole through space. Its sudden return after having gone missing seven years ago prompts an investigation by the rescue ship Lewis and Clark, with the Event Horizon’s designer Dr. Weir in tow. The ship has been in Hell, and it’s looking for a new crew so it can go back. 

Event Horizon is not a film for the squeamish; it’s bloody and cruel, pulling the crew apart by showing them their deepest fears and shames. It’s also visually spectacular, although one does have to wonder why Dr. Weir designed it to look so much like a torture device. Giant spikes? Razorblade tunnels? Get some therapy, man.

• Buy Event Horizon on Blu-ray at Amazon

8. Men in Black

• Release date: July 2, 1997
• Cast: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Vincent D’Onofrio

If there’s life out there, why haven’t we ever seen any aliens? Turns out we have, but the Men in Black (MiB) clean up any mess and wipe your memory to keep Earth running smoothly. Will Smith is new recruit Agent J, learning the MiB ropes from crusty veteran Agent K. J and K must find Vincent D’Onofrio’s human skin-wearing bug alien (sounds horrifying, but it’s genuinely hilarious) before it can destroy the galaxy of the Arquillians. 

The movie is our introduction to the secrets that exist right under our noses as aliens hide in plain sight and the MiB save our sanity by keeping us oblivious. The chemistry between Smith’s youthful swagger and Jones’ wry exhaustion has never been matched in any of the sequels.

• Buy Men in Black on Blu-ray at Amazon

7. Sunshine

• Release date: July 20, 2007
• Cast: Cillian Murphy, Rose Byrne, Chris Evans

The sun is dying and Earth is freezing. In a last-ditch effort to save humanity, the crew of the Icarus II looks to do what the Icarus I could not: reignite the sun by hurling a massive bomb into it. Icarus II picks up a distress signal from the presumed-lost Icarus I and naturally investigates, unwittingly catalyzing a series of catastrophes that put the mission in jeopardy.

Sunshine is a divisive movie, with some viewers feeling that the final third of the movie doesn’t jibe with what came before it, while others feel it’s the perfect culmination of the flick’s themes. Regardless of where you come down in that argument, it’s undeniable that Sunshine is visually stunning and offers outstanding performances from the entire Icarus crew, hence it’s inclusion on our best space movies list. Director Danny Boyle avoids the tropes that typically come with a plot about saving the world, instead giving us thoughtful scientists trying to make the best possible decisions in impossible situations.

• Buy Sunshine on Blu-ray at Amazon

6. Hidden Figures

• Release date: January 6, 2017
• Cast: Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Kevin Costner

It’s hard to decide which of Hidden Figures’ truths are the most mind-boggling; that the calculations for anything involving the American space program were done by hand, or that anyone ever cared about the skin color of the people doing said calculations. 

The film plays fast and loose with certain facts – the dramatic smashing of the toilet sign never happened, for example – but its depiction of the brilliance of Katherine Johnson and the other “computers” is just right and why it’s one of our best space movies.

• Buy Hidden Figures on Blu-ray at Amazon

• Release date: July 18, 1986
• Cast: Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen

Had Aliens simply replicated its predecessor, it likely would’ve been entertaining, if forgettable. Instead, director James Cameron turned it into a full-bore action film as space marines return to LV-426 to investigate a human colony that’s gone quiet. (Pro tip: Maybe don’t settle on a planet populated by lifeforms with acid for blood.) 

It’s an endlessly quotable action film, but Aliens’ exploration of motherhood – and the lengths a mother will go to protect her offspring – elevates it above mere popcorn movie status.

• Buy Aliens on Blu-ray now at Amazon
• Watch Aliens now on Tubi TV

4. Apollo 13

• Release date: June 30, 1995
• Cast: Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon

Astronauts Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise were supposed to land on the moon, but catastrophe strikes: one of the tanks holding their craft’s liquid oxygen explodes, sending their module tumbling and destroying much of the capsule’s inner workings. The Apollo 13 movie details the efforts to get the trio safely back to Earth without shying away from the terrifying truth that it is very, very easy to die in space.

Ed Harris provides steely strength as Flight Director Gene Krantz, who famously declares that “Failure is not an option” when it comes to figuring out how to restart the Odyssey before the astronauts suffocate. Come for the outstanding performances, stay for the reminder that this actually happened.

• Buy Apollo 13 on Blu-ray at Amazon

3. The Martian

• Release date: October 2, 2015
• Cast: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kate Mara

It’s difficult to combine a thrilling space story with hard science, but The Martian pulls it off with ease – it even made it onto our 5 most realistic space movies list. The crew of the Ares III mission to Mars accidentally leaves astronaut Mark Watney behind as they evacuate the planet. (In their defense, they thought he was dead. Oops.) When Watney realizes he’s alone and stranded, he begins the laborious work to ensure his survival, chronicling his efforts on a video diary. As he works to stay alive, NASA and the rest of the Ares III crew work to bring him home.

NASA collaborated heavily with the film production to make its depiction of a Mars mission “reasonably realistic.” The winds that force the crew to evacuate, for example, would’ve been more like a gentle breeze, but sometimes creative licence simply must step in. Also, NASA’s offices apparently aren’t that stylish (okay, we could’ve guessed that one).

• Buy The Martian on Blu-ray at Amazon
• Buy The Martian the book at Amazon
• Watch The Martian now on DIRECTV and Spectrum on Demand

• Release date: June 22, 1979
• Cast: Sigourney Weaver, Ian Holm, Tom Skeritt

If you ever want to start an argument among Alien fans, ask them if it’s horror or science fiction (it’s both). A group of space truckers are pulled out of cryosleep when their ship’s computer detects a distress signal. The interstellar cruiser, Nostromo, sets down on LV-426 and what happens next spawns a franchise that’s still going strong. 

The design of the titular creature introduced audiences to the bizarre imagination of artist H. R. Giger, while Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley immediately became a genre icon. Ian Holm’s final moments as Ash are spine-chilling as he dispassionately discusses the relative value of the crew’s lives against that of the xenomorph. Would the alien have gone back for the cat? No. Checkmate, Ash.

• Buy Alien on Blu-ray at Amazon

1. Galaxy Quest

• Release date: December 25, 1999
• Cast: Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman

In the movie, the cast of Galaxy Quest are questioning the life choices that have led them to still be talking about the dopey TV show they did in the 80s as they do the convention circuit and cut ribbons at store openings. The only one who misses those halcyon days is Jason Nesmith, who played the ship’s Captain – he’s always delighted to have another opportunity to put on the uniform and mingle with the fans.

Galaxy Quest sees a race of aliens mistakenly take old episodes of the show to be actual historical documents and plead with Nesmith to save them. This is one of the best space movies because what ensues is a love letter to Star Trek: The Original Series and its fans. Trekkies are usually the butt of the joke, but in Galaxy Quest they’re the heroes who save the day. Alan Rickman is unforgettable as Sir Alexander Dane. Just try not to get emotional when he finally delivers the “Grabthar’s hammer” line, we dare you.

• Buy Galaxy Quest on Blu-ray at Amazon

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Susan Arendt is a freelance writer, editor, and consultant living in Burleson, TX. She's a huge sci-fi TV and movie buff, and will talk your Vulcan ears off about Star Trek. You can find more of her work at Wired, IGN, Polygon, or look for her on Twitter: @SusanArendt. Be prepared to see too many pictures of her dogs.

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Netflix’s ‘Away’ shows a mission to Mars. It may be closer to reality than you think

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In the second episode of Netflix’s space drama “Away,” two astronauts head outside into space to make some emergency repairs.

Emma Green (Hilary Swank), the American commander of the international mission to Mars , and experienced Russian cosmonaut Misha Popov (Mark Ivanir) must work together to get the third solar array of their ship properly deployed.

As if a spacewalk on a moving ship wasn’t risky enough, Emma and Misha — who must stay tethered to each other to keep from floating off into space — are also at a crossroads: the latter believes the commander is unfit to lead the mission. It’s an early look at how closely the 10-episode series, now streaming, weaves its interpersonal and technical dramas together for added tension.

“We spent hours sitting in a room trying to figure out how to do that spacewalk and make it feel as epic and terrifying as it would be,” said Jessica Goldberg, executive producer and showrunner of “Away.”

Emma and Misha must make their way around the exterior of their spaceship toward a large array of solar panels whose function is critical to the success of their mission — and their survival. As expected from a high-stakes drama, the repairs are anything but simple and require Emma to take additional risks.

Based on an Esquire article by Chris Jones (who was a part of the show’s writers room), “Away” is set in a future that is near enough that all of the science and technology feels within the realm of what is actually possible. There was plenty of research and consultants involved, including former NASA astronaut Mike Massimino, to help maintain the series’ realism.

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Emma and Misha’s spacewalk — like a number of other events experienced by the members of the Atlas crew — is inspired by actual events: the spacewalks at the International Space Station.

Pulling off the scene required the collaboration of multiple departments.

Production designer David Sandefur, who designed a detailed 3-D model of the Atlas even before building the actual set pieces, said that it all starts with the writing. He and the writer can then make adjustments as they figure out what things work and what don’t.

“We went back and forth until we hit this sort of perfect place where the set piece and the script and also the tenor of the scene matched up perfectly,” said Sandefur. “Some of the hardest things to shoot wind up being the most flawlessly executed, because there’s so much effort put into the complexity of it and making sure that it’s all sorted.”

Among the many specifics to consider for the spacewalk were the design and location of the solar array, the actual problems the astronauts would encounter along the way to get there, and how they would get back to safety.

“I built everything that was needed for [Emma and Misha] on their physical journey,” said Sandefur. “They travel 50 feet in one direction and 20 feet in another direction along the solar array — I basically built everything that they would make contact with and … everything that would capture their shadows.”

Everything was planned in order to create a sense of real jeopardy according to stunt coordinator Jeff Aro.

“There are some logistics that don’t necessarily translate from the page to the physical world,” said Aro. “We were tasked with making those transitions, bringing their words on the page to reality and determining what was sensible for our cast to do — and they did a large part of it.”

“Our goal was to use as much of Mark and Hillary as we could” in the scene, added Aro. “So we would use the stunt doubles to suss out the sequence, get the approval from the director, and then have our cast go through all of the elements to fill out the story beats.”

The key to the scene was making sure everything — from the design of the spaceship to the decisions the astronauts are making — don’t stray too far into the realm of science fiction. Staying tethered, for example, is something astronauts actually do for their safety during spacewalks.

“We’re trying to capture how a spacewalk feels,” said creator and executive producer Andrew Hinderaker. “Astronauts talk about it being so nerve-racking and exhausting and thrilling. And yet most spacewalks themselves, if you watch, are a little boring. A lot of just crawling along the side of the ship. So how do you capture how it feels and still keep a foot in conversation with what feels real?”

Sandefur said working on “Away” has felt a bit like “fulfilling a childhood dream.”

“I’ve always had an interest in this,” said Sandefur. “I’ve always been interested in space travel since I was a kid and I wanted to be a fighter pilot as a young boy.”

For the Atlas itself, he took inspiration from the technology used by both NASA and SpaceX (though not necessarily their actual designs). Even the crew’s quarters having artificial gravity is rooted in research and proposals that have been made for real-life space travel.

This helped balance realism and the demands of storytelling when it came to one unique facet of a TV show set in space. Almost every scene with zero gravity — such as those in the common room on the Atlas — involves stunt work with the actors being on wires.

“Because we don’t have zero gravity, we have to create that, which requires planning in every instance,” said Aro. “In that way, it was quite a challenge. Our storytelling typically is in explosions and fights … but in [‘Away’] it was of deeper emotional challenges and we were trying to make choices that reflected and complemented the story. That’s not typically what we’re solicited to do.”

It turns out the science on “Away” might be one of the most realistic aspects of the show.

Hinderaker recalled an early conversation with a source from NASA about the concept of the series and asked how soon a human mission to Mars would be possible with the adequate funds and international cooperation.

“He said, ‘Oh, we could go tomorrow,’” explained Hinderaker. “That was so powerful and that’s really part of why we chose to put the show in a very near future world that really felt like ours.”

“There are moments where it feels impossible that we’ll have the collective international will to do this,” said Hinderaker. But “the thing that feels [most] impossible, the show presupposes happened.”

Where: Netflix When: Any time Rating: TV-14 (may be unsuitable for children under the age of 14)

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10 Movies Where Humans Colonize Other Planets

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10 Underrated Sci-Fi Movies Based on Books

All 10 martin scorsese movies from the 21st century, ranked, 12 canceled marvel movies that will never see the light of day.

Space colonization refers to the permanent establishment of human civilization on other planets, moons, or celestial bodies. It is often sought as a solution to Earth becoming environmentally uninhabitable, over-population, or natural resource deficit, and it is a continuous area of research. In science-fiction movies , it serves as a theme that visualizes self-sustaining human survival on extraterrestrial territories and the technologies that would allow such a migration to space.

Movies about space colonization offer different perspectives on why and how a resettlement as grand as this could happen. From mainstream thrillers like Interstellar , to more classic gems such as Forbidden Planet , this list invites you to dwell on the obscurity and thrill of human survival. Here are 10 exemplary films that each illustrate the process, the potential challenges, and the possible consequences of space colonization in different ways.

Related: The Best Outer Space Movies of The 2000s, Ranked

10 Interstellar (2014)

Directed by Christopher Nolan and released in 2014, Interstellar is one of the most intense blockbuster science-fiction movies about space travel and exploration, and is known to be the most scientifically accurate . Following Earth’s decay into an uninhabitable and environmentally disastrous future, a group of astronauts set to find a new home for humanity by traveling through a wormhole near Saturn.

With striking performances from Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, and Jessica Chastain, Interstellar extends its area of exploration to themes of familial bonds, time, and desperation. Its blockbuster quality is justified in the movie’s striking visuals, mind-boggling storyline, and telling of the harsh reality of human survival.

9 Cosmic Sin (2021)

Edward Drake’s Cosmic Sin pictures space colonization on a wider scale, set in the distant future. Humans have been colonizing planets for centuries and have established civilizations across the galaxy. Alien encounters are a casual happening, and space travel is a norm. However, when an alien species start planning to take over the Earth, a group of scientists and military leaders (including Bruce Wills as the General) initiate a mission to stop the invasion.

Since its release, Cosmic Sin has been subjected to harsh reviews targeting its script, plot, and special effects, even including an award for Worst Performance by Bruce Willis in a 2021 Movie . Despite the critics’ overall reception, the movie still managed to capture an appreciative audience. It has the appeal of science-fiction B-movies for any genre fanatic willing to watch.

8 Tides (2021)

Tides (also known as The Colony ) is an English-speaking German science-fiction thriller written and directed by Tim Fehlbaum. In a post-apocalyptic setting where Earth has been declared environmentally uninhabitable, and a particular group of elites has resettled in a space colony, Tides follows three Kepler colony astronauts that return to Earth to see whether it has become habitable again.

Tides provides a more sociologically complex outlook by merging space colonization with issues such as classism and extreme nepotism. It is a film concerned with research, exploration, and survival ethics. It is a look-back on humans’ impact on Earth and a thought-provoking feature with outstanding visuals.

7 Forbidden Planet (1956)

Recognized as the trailblazer for multiple facets of science-fiction cinema, Forbidden Planet was directed by Fred M. Wilcox and written by Cyril Hume in the 1950s. The movie revolves around the planet Altair IV and a space exploration crew that intends to check up on a previous mission. Along with the scientist Dr. Morbius who lives on the planet with his daughter and a robot named Robby, the crew starts scrutinizing and uncovering the history of Altair lV.

Forbidden Planet showcases a unique approach to space colonization where ancient civilizations and natural threats work in unison. Being the pioneer for multiple science-fiction visual effects and genre tropes, Forbidden Planet is a staple of classic cinema with its innovative take on the human knowledge of technology and science.

6 Pandorum (2009)

Pandorum is a science-fiction horror movie directed by Christian Alvart, about the dangers and threats of space traveling for colonization. After overpopulation exhausts Earth's natural resources, a spaceship called the Elysium is launched to find and colonize Tanis, an Earth-like habitable planet. In Elysium, two crew members try to survive a violent, feral, and deadly mystery while also battling amnesia and a mental psychosis caused by prolonged and deep space travel.

Alvart’s Pandorum situates human isolation and endurance in grotesque horror. Its portrayal of space-related torment has stood out with its brutality and shock factors. Definitely not crafted for the easily disturbed, Pandorum is still a movie with a cult following, thanks to its original storyline and notable visual effects.

5 Passengers (2016)

Passengers is a Morten Tyldum-directed science-fiction film with sparks of romance. A spaceship that carries thousands of people to a new planet called Homestead ll, in hibernation pods, gets damaged by an asteroid. The pods are set to a 120-year-long hibernation. After the asteroid collision, the malfunctioning in the system causes Jim’s pod (played by Chris Pratt) to be awoken 90 years early. With the struggle of severe loneliness, Jim then awakens a beautiful companion, Jennifer Lawrence’s Aurora Lane.

Crafting a romance in the midst of a mentally challenging setting is tricky, and Passengers has received its fair share of criticism. Aside from the acting, the movie’s musical score and production design have also helped compensate for its controversial plot; both were nominated for the 89th Academy Awards .

Related: The Best Outer Space Movies of the 2010s, Ranked

4 The Martian (2015)

Based on the 2011 novel by Andy Weir, The Martian was adapted to a screenplay by Drew Goddard and directed by the infamous Ridley Scott. It is 2035, and Mark Watney (played by Matt Damon) is stranded on Mars after a severe dust storm damages the camp, and the crew is forced to leave the planet. This is the story of Watney’s deterministic survival and communication attempts.

The Martian ’ s telling of human resilience has allowed the film multiple high-class awards and great commercial success. The movie does not use space colonization as a forefront theme but incorporates it into Watney’s instincts and problem-solving skills. Watney himself even states this as he says, “They say once you grow crops somewhere, you have officially colonized it. So, technically, I colonized Mars”. He’s right.

3 Prospect (2018)

Referred to as a science-fiction indie film, Prospect was written and directed by Zeek Earl and Chris Caldwell. Starring Pedro Pascal, Sophie Thatcher, and Jay Duplass, the movie features a father-daughter duo who venture to an alien forest moon in hopes of mining gemstones. However, the mission is threatened as they come across other potentially dangerous prospectors with similar interests.

Based on a short film with the same name, released in 2014, Prospect works as a testament to human greed on an interplanetary level. With bold performances, a dense plot, and its own take on human morals, the movie has experienced mostly positive feedback and appreciation.

2 Red Planet (2000)

Being Antony Hoffman’s only feature-length film, Red Planet is a science-fiction action film that stars Val Kilmer, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Tom Sizemore as part of its impressive cast. The movie, set in 2025, centers around the colonization of Mars after Earth starts suffering from overpopulation and intense pollution. A space crew’s assessment of Mars as a potentially habitable environment results in unexpected technical difficulties.

Red Planet is a visualization of insecure technology and fatal human error. The sturdy premise is definitely promising; however, despite its elevated expectations, the film was faced with mixed reviews after its release. While praising the film's special effects, not many critics were fond of the story’s progression.

1 Elysium (2013)

Directed by Neill Blomkamp, Elysium is a dystopian science-fiction action movie about human segregation. In the year 2154, an artificial habitat called the Elysium fosters the elite while others are left to survive on a disease-infected, devastated Earth. Max, a former criminal played by Matt Damon, attempts a mission to use a curing medical device in Elysium while having to struggle with interruptions from Secretary Delacourt (played by Jodie Foster).

Themes such as social justice, inequality, and classist technology are embedded within the survival story of Elysium. This complexity within the story structure has deepened the impact of its action sequences and vivid special effects. Elysium ’s depiction of space colonization thus takes a more narrowed down but gripping route.

Humans’ passionate curiosity for outer space has led to a continuous circulation of science-fiction content, each representing the infinity and its beyond in unique settings. Somewhere along the line, these representations started to include a habit from the history books. As a matter of survival, greed, or scientific study, space colonization is now a staple for the screens.

• Movie Lists

A Groundbreaking Scientific Discovery Just Gave Humanity the Keys to Interstellar Travel

In a first, this warp drive actually obeys the laws of physics.

If a superluminal—meaning faster than the speed of light—warp drive like Alcubierre’s worked, it would revolutionize humanity’s endeavors across the universe , allowing us, perhaps, to reach Alpha Centauri, our closest star system, in days or weeks even though it’s four light years away.

However, the Alcubierre drive has a glaring problem: the force behind its operation, called “negative energy,” involves exotic particles—hypothetical matter that, as far as we know, doesn’t exist in our universe. Described only in mathematical terms, exotic particles act in unexpected ways, like having negative mass and working in opposition to gravity (in fact, it has “anti-gravity”). For the past 30 years, scientists have been publishing research that chips away at the inherent hurdles to light speed revealed in Alcubierre’s foundational 1994 article published in the peer-reviewed journal Classical and Quantum Gravity .

Now, researchers at the New York City-based think tank Applied Physics believe they’ve found a creative new approach to solving the warp drive’s fundamental roadblock. Along with colleagues from other institutions, the team envisioned a “positive energy” system that doesn’t violate the known laws of physics . It’s a game-changer, say two of the study’s authors: Gianni Martire, CEO of Applied Physics, and Jared Fuchs, Ph.D., a senior scientist there. Their work, also published in Classical and Quantum Gravity in late April, could be the first chapter in the manual for interstellar spaceflight.

POSITIVE ENERGY MAKES all the difference. Imagine you are an astronaut in space, pushing a tennis ball away from you. Instead of moving away, the ball pushes back, to the point that it would “take your hand off” if you applied enough pushing force, Martire tells Popular Mechanics . That’s a sign of negative energy, and, though the Alcubierre drive design requires it, there’s no way to harness it.

Instead, regular old positive energy is more feasible for constructing the “ warp bubble .” As its name suggests, it’s a spherical structure that surrounds and encloses space for a passenger ship using a shell of regular—but incredibly dense—matter. The bubble propels the spaceship using the powerful gravity of the shell, but without causing the passengers to feel any acceleration. “An elevator ride would be more eventful,” Martire says.

That’s because the density of the shell, as well as the pressure it exerts on the interior, is controlled carefully, Fuchs tells Popular Mechanics . Nothing can travel faster than the speed of light, according to the gravity-bound principles of Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity . So the bubble is designed such that observers within their local spacetime environment—inside the bubble—experience normal movement in time. Simultaneously, the bubble itself compresses the spacetime in front of the ship and expands it behind the ship, ferrying itself and the contained craft incredibly fast. The walls of the bubble generate the necessary momentum, akin to the momentum of balls rolling, Fuchs explains. “It’s the movement of the matter in the walls that actually creates the effect for passengers on the inside.”

Building on its 2021 paper published in Classical and Quantum Gravity —which details the same researchers’ earlier work on physical warp drives—the team was able to model the complexity of the system using its own computational program, Warp Factory. This toolkit for modeling warp drive spacetimes allows researchers to evaluate Einstein’s field equations and compute the energy conditions required for various warp drive geometries. Anyone can download and use it for free . These experiments led to what Fuchs calls a mini model, the first general model of a positive-energy warp drive. Their past work also demonstrated that the amount of energy a warp bubble requires depends on the shape of the bubble; for example, the flatter the bubble in the direction of travel, the less energy it needs.

THIS LATEST ADVANCEMENT suggests fresh possibilities for studying warp travel design, Erik Lentz, Ph.D., tells Popular Mechanics . In his current position as a staff physicist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington, Lentz contributes to research on dark matter detection and quantum information science research. His independent research in warp drive theory also aims to be grounded in conventional physics while reimagining the shape of warped space. The topic needs to overcome many practical hurdles, he says.

Controlling warp bubbles requires a great deal of coordination because they involve enormous amounts of matter and energy to keep the passengers safe and with a similar passage of time as the destination. “We could just as well engineer spacetime where time passes much differently inside [the passenger compartment] than outside. We could miss our appointment at Proxima Centauri if we aren’t careful,” Lentz says. “That is still a risk if we are traveling less than the speed of light.” Communication between people inside the bubble and outside could also become distorted as it passes through the curvature of warped space, he adds.

While Applied Physics’ current solution requires a warp drive that travels below the speed of light, the model still needs to plug in a mass equivalent to about two Jupiters. Otherwise, it will never achieve the gravitational force and momentum high enough to cause a meaningful warp effect. But no one knows what the source of this mass could be—not yet, at least. Some research suggests that if we could somehow harness dark matter , we could use it for light-speed travel, but Fuchs and Martire are doubtful, since it’s currently a big mystery (and an exotic particle).

Despite the many problems scientists still need to solve to build a working warp drive, the Applied Physics team claims its model should eventually get closer to light speed. And even if a feasible model remains below the speed of light, it’s a vast improvement over today’s technology. For example, traveling at even half the speed of light to Alpha Centauri would take nine years. In stark contrast, our fastest spacecraft, Voyager 1—currently traveling at 38,000 miles per hour—would take 75,000 years to reach our closest neighboring star system.

Of course, as you approach the actual speed of light, things get truly weird, according to the principles of Einstein’s special relativity . The mass of an object moving faster and faster would increase infinitely, eventually requiring an infinite amount of energy to maintain its speed.

“That’s the chief limitation and key challenge we have to overcome—how can we have all this matter in our [bubble], but not at such a scale that we can never even put it together?” Martire says. It’s possible the answer lies in condensed matter physics, he adds. This branch of physics deals particularly with the forces between atoms and electrons in matter. It has already proven fundamental to several of our current technologies, such as transistors, solid-state lasers, and magnetic storage media.

The other big issue is that current models allow a stable warp bubble, but only for a constant velocity. Scientists still need to figure out how to design an initial acceleration. On the other end of the journey, how will the ship slow down and stop? “It’s like trying to grasp the automobile for the first time,” Martire says. “We don’t have an engine just yet, but we see the light at the end of the tunnel.” Warp drive technology is at the stage of 1882 car technology, he says: when automobile travel was possible, but it still looked like a hard, hard problem.

The Applied Physics team believes future innovations in warp travel are inevitable. The general positive energy model is a first step. Besides, you don’t need to zoom at light speed to achieve distances that today are just a dream, Martire says. “Humanity is officially, mathematically, on an interstellar track.”

Before joining Popular Mechanics , Manasee Wagh worked as a newspaper reporter, a science journalist, a tech writer, and a computer engineer. She’s always looking for ways to combine the three greatest joys in her life: science, travel, and food.

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Top 25 space films

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey

3. Apollo 13

6. Interstellar

8. The Martian

10. October Sky

11. Blade Runner

12. Sunshine

14. Solaris

15. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

17. Close Encounters of the Third Kind

18. The Fifth Element

19. Gravity

20. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back

21. Event Horizon

22. Prometheus

23. Pandorum

24. Star Trek

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