Space exploration movie list
Movies about (realistic depictions of) space travel. No aliens, no fantasy!
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71 titles
- DirectorIrving PichelStarsJohn ArcherWarner AndersonTom Powers"Destination Moon", tells the tale of when Doctor Charles Cargraves and retired General Thayer approach Jim Barnes, the head of his own aviation construction firms to help build a rocket that will take them to the moon.
- DirectorRichard CarlsonHerbert L. StrockStarsWilliam LundiganHerbert MarshallRichard CarlsonThree men are assigned by the Office of Scientific Investigation to man rocket ships to outer space and attempt to capture a meteor.
- DirectorByron HaskinStarsWalter BrookeEric FlemingMickey ShaughnessyAn American-led team of International astronauts leave their space station on the first mission to Mars, but the captain's religious beliefs may get in the way.
- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsJames CaanRobert DuvallJoanna MooreDesperate to land a man on the moon before Russia does, NASA hastily preps a would-be spaceman for a mission that would leave him alone in a lunar shelter for a year.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsGregory PeckRichard CrennaDavid JanssenThree American astronauts are stranded in space when their retros won't fire. Can they be rescued before their oxygen runs out?
- DirectorAndrei TarkovskyStarsNatalya BondarchukDonatas BanionisJüri JärvetA psychologist is sent to a station orbiting a distant planet in order to discover what has caused the crew to go insane.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsKeir DulleaGary LockwoodWilliam SylvesterAfter uncovering a mysterious artifact buried beneath the Lunar surface, a spacecraft is sent to Jupiter to find its origins: a spacecraft manned by two men and the supercomputer HAL 9000.
- DirectorPhilip KaufmanStarsSam ShepardScott GlennEd HarrisThe U.S. space program's development from the breaking of the sound barrier to selection of the Mercury 7 astronauts, from a group of test pilots with a more seat-of-the-pants approach than the program's more cautious engineers preferred.
- DirectorRon HowardStarsTom HanksBill PaxtonKevin BaconNASA must devise a strategy to return Apollo 13 to Earth safely after the spacecraft undergoes massive internal damage putting the lives of the three astronauts on board in jeopardy.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodTommy Lee JonesDonald SutherlandWhen retired engineer Frank Corvin is called upon to rescue a failing satellite, he insists that his equally old teammates accompany him into space.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsTim RobbinsGary SiniseDon CheadleWhen the first manned mission to Mars meets with a catastrophic and mysterious disaster after reporting an unidentified structure, a rescue mission is launched to investigate the tragedy and bring back any survivors.
- DirectorAntony HoffmanStarsVal KilmerCarrie-Anne MossTom SizemoreAstronauts, and their robotic dog AMEE (Autonomous Mapping Evaluation and Evasion), search for solutions to save a dying Earth by searching on Mars, only to have the mission go terribly awry.
- DirectorDuncan JonesStarsSam RockwellKevin SpaceyDominique McElligottAstronaut Sam Bell has a quintessentially personal encounter toward the end of his three-year stint on the Moon, where he, working alongside his computer, GERTY, sends back to Earth parcels of a resource that has helped diminish our planet's power problems.
- DirectorMaría LidónStarsVincent GalloMaria de MedeirosJoaquim de AlmeidaAn international group of astronauts crash land on Mars with limited supplies. Help from Earth is 26 months away which means only two can survive. The crew is forced to make desperate choices.
- DirectorWilliam EubankStarsGunner WrightCorey RichardsonBradley HorneA man spends years alone on a space station orbiting Earth after losing communication with Houston/Earth. He spends time on maintenance, exercise, watching old messages, and reading a journal by a soldier in the American Civil War.
- DirectorSebastián CorderoStarsSharlto CopleyMichael NyqvistChristian CamargoAn international crew of astronauts undertakes a privately funded mission to search for life on Jupiter's fourth largest moon.
- DirectorAlfonso CuarónStarsSandra BullockGeorge ClooneyEd HarrisDr Ryan Stone, an engineer on her first time on a space mission, and Matt Kowalski, an astronaut on his final expedition, have to survive in space after they are hit by debris while spacewalking.
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsMatthew McConaugheyAnne HathawayJessica ChastainWhen Earth becomes uninhabitable in the future, a farmer and ex-NASA pilot, Joseph Cooper, is tasked to pilot a spacecraft, along with a team of researchers, to find a new planet for humans.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsMatt DamonJessica ChastainKristen WiigAn astronaut becomes stranded on Mars after his team assume him dead, and must rely on his ingenuity to find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive and can survive until a potential rescue.
- DirectorNorberto BarbaStarsCarmen ArgenzianoTuck MilliganDennis LipscombFearful that the Russians would continue their lead in the space race and be the first to put a man on the moon, NASA felt an enormous pressure to push the Apollo Program forward as quickly as possible, though they knew that pushing too hard could lead to the ultimate disaster. This film recreates the tensions that were felt not only by the three astronauts, Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins, but also by their families and by the teams of technicians training to deal with anything that could go wrong.
- DirectorDanny BoyleStarsCillian MurphyRose ByrneChris EvansA team of international astronauts is sent on a dangerous mission to reignite the dying Sun with a nuclear fission bomb in 2057.
- DirectorGary NelsonStarsMaximilian SchellAnthony PerkinsRobert ForsterA research vessel finds a missing ship, commanded by a mysterious scientist, on the edge of a black hole.
- DirectorNicolas BazzStarsJauris CasanovaHélène SeuzaretBenjamin BoyerEjected 20,000 years away from their civilization by a black hole, 3 scientists, a pshychiatrist, and a mechanic, decide to explore the universe rather than go back to earth.
- DirectorRoger ChristianStarsChristian SlaterAmy MatysioMichael TherriaultFour astronauts working at a lunar base suffer a meteor strike that brings an infection that leads to paranoia, fear and death.
- DirectorAndrew MartinStarsEdmund KingsleyLisa GreenwoodDavid WaymanAfter years of flying fighter planes and 5 years as test pilot, Guy is now, Dec. 4, 1959, on a secret British space capsule orbiting Earth trying to reenter but things start going wrong. Can he, despite cold war, get back to Earth safely?
- DirectorDaniel EspinosaStarsJake GyllenhaalRebecca FergusonRyan ReynoldsA team of scientists aboard the International Space Station discover a rapidly evolving life form that caused extinction on Mars and now threatens all life on Earth.
- DirectorJulius OnahStarsGugu Mbatha-RawDavid OyelowoDaniel BrühlOrbiting a planet on the brink of war, scientists test a device to solve an energy crisis, and end up face-to-face with a dark alternate reality.
- DirectorDean DevlinStarsGerard ButlerJim SturgessAbbie CornishWhen the network of satellites designed to control the global climate starts to attack Earth, it's a race against the clock for its creator to uncover the real threat before a worldwide Geostorm wipes out everything and everyone.
- DirectorClaire DenisStarsRobert PattinsonJuliette BinocheAndré 3000A father and his daughter struggle to survive in deep space where they live in isolation.
- DirectorJames GrayStarsBrad PittTommy Lee JonesRuth NeggaAstronaut Roy McBride undertakes a mission across an unforgiving solar system to uncover the truth about his missing father and his doomed expedition that now, 30 years later, threatens the universe.
- DirectorNoah HawleyStarsNatalie PortmanJon HammZazie BeetzAstronaut Lucy Cola returns to Earth after a transcendent experience during a mission to space, and begins to lose touch with reality in a world that now seems too small.
- DirectorMorten TyldumStarsJennifer LawrenceChris PrattMichael SheenA malfunction in a sleeping pod on a spacecraft traveling to a distant colony planet wakes one passenger 90 years early.
- DirectorDamien ChazelleStarsRyan GoslingClaire FoyJason ClarkeA look at the life of the astronaut, Neil Armstrong, and the legendary space mission that led him to become the first man to walk on the Moon on July 20, 1969.
- DirectorKyle Patrick AlvarezStarsIsaiah Russell-BaileyMckenna GraceBilly BarrattAfter the death of his father, a boy growing up on a lunar mining colony takes a trip to explore a legendary crater, along with his four best friends, prior to permanently leaving the Moon and relocated to another planet.
- DirectorAl ReinertStarsJim LovellKen MattinglyRussell SchweickartAn in-depth look at various NASA moon landing missions, starting with Apollo 8.
- DirectorTheo KameckeStarsLaurence LuckinbillBuzz AldrinNeil ArmstrongThis documentary from 1970 explores all aspects of the Apollo 11 Moon mission.
- DirectorDavid FairheadStarsJohn AaronStephen BalesJerry BostickAt the heart of the Apollo program was the special team in Mission Control who put a man on the moon and helped create the future.
- DirectorDavid SingtonStarsBuzz AldrinAlan BeanEugene CernanThe crew members of NASA's Apollo missions tell their story in their own words.
- DirectorMark CraigStarsEugene CernanFred 'Baldy' BaldwinAlan BeanWhen Apollo astronaut Gene Cernan stepped off the moon in December 1972 he left his footprints and his daughter's initials in the lunar dust. Only now is he ready to share his epic but deeply personal story of fulfillment, love, and loss.
- DirectorKirk WolfingerStarsBarry CorbinBuzz AldrinJay BarbreeThis mini-series is a documentary that chronicles the NASA space program from its inception up through the final moon mission of Apollo 17 with historical, archived NASA film footage.
- DirectorPaul J. HildebrandtStarsStory MusgraveBill NyeMichio KakuExperts discuss the past, present and future of U.S. space programs.
- DirectorNichola BruceStarsBuzz AldrinAlan BeanFrank BormanBitten by the 'Moonbug', photographer Steve Pyke set out on a journey across America in his search to meet and photograph the Apollo space pioneers. A journey in which he was to meet the adventurers, risk takers and dreamers who were behind one of the most historic endeavors of our time. From living rooms and moonscape deserts, to Cape Canaveral, Steve captures these pioneers in frank, revealing portraits, while unravelling their very personal and divergent memories. With rare archive footage and an original score by Matt Johnson and The The, Moonbug is both a photographic road trip and an exploration of how photographs become signpost for history.
- DirectorRushmore DeNooyerKirk WolfingerStarsGene KranzJames DoolittleChristopher KraftA history of the U.S. manned space program from Mercury to Apollo 17, as seen by the men of Mission Control.
- DirectorNoel BucknerRob WhittleseyStarsJohn AaronAmr AbdulgalilFred HaiseApollo 13 was supposed to be the third human spacecraft to successfully land on the moon and return home safely, when, 250,000 miles from earth, these words pierced the vastness of space: "Houston, we have a problem." This documentary uses interviews with the actual astronauts, family members and NASA engineers that were there, combined with archival news footage, to tell the true story of Apollo 13.
- DirectorJoe PennaStarsAnna KendrickDaniel Dae KimShamier AndersonA three-person crew on a mission to Mars faces an impossible choice when an unplanned passenger jeopardizes the lives of everyone on board.
- DirectorAndrew V. McLaglenStarsLloyd BridgesJeremy SlateJim McMullanAn 11 year old boy, who has always been fascinated by space and astronauts, wishes he could go into space also. So of course it should be easy to get into Cape Kennedy, up the launch tower, and into the capsule. Naturally when something goes wrong on the journey, he will save the day.
- DirectorRobert Michael LewisStarsJackie CooperMonte MarkhamRichard AndersonGovernment officials, not wanting to have the space program canceled, substitute a lookalike for an astronaut who died on a Mars mission.
- DirectorNathan VonMindenStarsEric HansonCameron ArnettGerald BrodinInspired by the true story. The night before the Challenger disaster in 1986, a hot headed engineer leads a desperate race against the clock to stop the launch and the subsequent cover up and whistleblowing.
- DirectorJames HawesStarsJoanne WhalleyEve BestBruce GreenwoodFactual drama exploring the truth behind the space shuttle Challenger's 1986 disintegration.
- DirectorTerence FisherStarsHoward DuffEva BartokAlan WheatleyA small group of closely-guarded British scientists test their first rocket amidst indications of matrimonial strife in the community. After the partial failure of the firing, a couple go missing - have they gone off together or are their murdered bodies circling the earth in the remains of the rocket?
- DirectorRichard TalmadgeStarsDonna MartellHayden RorkeRoss FordA saboteur posing as a scientist strives to destroy the world's first space station.
- DirectorEric HaydenStarsKhary PaytonLance HenriksenBrian BaumgartnerWhen a tragic accident cuts short the first manned mission to explore life on the moons of Jupiter, Michael Forrest must make the 3 year journey home to Earth in pure solitude.
- DirectorEdward MontagneStarsDon KnottsLeslie NielsenJoan FreemanA NASA janitor is sent into space.
- DirectorRoy Ward BakerStarsJames OlsonCatherine SchellWarren MitchellA space salvage expert and his partner become involved with a group of criminals intent on hijacking a small asteroid made of sapphire and crashing it into the moon.
- DirectorRobert ParrishStarsRoy ThinnesIan HendryPatrick WymarkThe European Space Exploration Council sends two astronauts to explore a planet similar to the Earth but located on the opposite side of the sun.
- DirectorMatt OstermanStarsBrandon RouthDane CookCaity LotzWith their 400-day mission simulation nearing completion, 4 astronauts begin to feel something's amiss.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsDavid McLeanCharles BronsonRalph TaegerDuring the Cold War in the 1960s the U.S.A.F. and NASA tested the experimental rocket-powered aircraft X-15 that set altitude and speed records and reached the edge of outer space.
- DirectorJohn Francis DaleyJonathan GoldsteinA futuristic approach wherein tourism within our solar system has become a routine. A trip to the Solar System turns into a life or death struggle to return to Earth.
- DirectorPella KagermanHugo LiljaStarsEmelie GarbersBianca CruzeiroArvin KananianA spaceship carrying settlers to Mars is knocked off course, causing the consumption-obsessed passengers to consider their place in the universe.
- DirectorNeil BurgerStarsColin FarrellTye SheridanLily-Rose DeppA crew of astronauts on a multi-generational mission descend into paranoia and madness, not knowing what is real or not.
- DirectorJohn SuitsStarsOmar EppsKate WalshAngus MacfadyenA group of astronauts living in the haunting emptiness of deep space awake to find Earth has suffered an extinction level event.
- DirectorRon HowardA colony of survivors living in outer space try to return to Earth thousands of years after it was evacuated.
- DirectorSteven Hilliard SternStarsWilford BrimleyMichael IronsideMartin BalsamSet in the "not-so-distant future", the crew of an international space station are set to return triumphantly to Earth, until someone starts killing the other crew members.
- DirectorDouglas TrumbullStarsBruce DernCliff PottsRon RifkinIn a future where all flora is extinct on Earth, an astronaut is given orders to destroy the last of Earth's botany, kept in a greenhouse aboard a spacecraft.
- DirectorAlice WinocourStarsEva GreenZélie BoulantMatt DillonAn astronaut prepares for a one-year mission aboard the International Space Station.
- DirectorPhil LordChristopher MillerStarsRyan GoslingAn astronaut tries to save Earth while alone in outer space.
- The story of a female astronaut stationed in outer space to monitor solar storms that endanger earth. She discovers shock waves from solar storms are bending time.
- DirectorScott BeckBryan WoodsStarsAdam DriverAriana GreenblattChloe ColemanAn astronaut crash lands on a mysterious planet only to discover he's not alone.
- DirectorAleksandr SurinStarsJuozas BudraitisVitali SolominAleksandr PorokhovshchikovAn accident occurs on an orbital space station, as a result of which the ship's commander is seriously injured. He must be urgently delivered to Earth and testing must be continued. It can only be done by the crew of Kuznetsov-Mukhin.
- DirectorGabriela CowperthwaiteStarsAriana DeBoseChris MessinaJohn Gallagher Jr.Tensions flare in the near future aboard the International Space Station as a conflict breaks out on Earth. Reeling, the U.S. and Russian astronauts receive orders from the ground: take control of the station by any means necessary.