A Glean movie guide
Hard Science: Realistic Space Travel
No sound in a vacuum.
From historical missions to grounded sci-fi, these films trade laser blasts for orbital...
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
Apollo 13
A masterclass in engineering and problem-solving under extreme pressure, based on the real 1970 lunar mission.
The true story of technical troubles that scuttle the Apollo 13 lunar mission in 1970, risking the lives of astronaut Jim Lovell and his crew, with the failed journey turning into a thrilling saga of heroism. Drifting more than 200,000 miles from Earth, the astronauts work furiously with the ground crew to avert tragedy.
- 02
The Martian
A survival thriller that uses actual botany and orbital mechanics as its primary plot devices.
During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive.
- 03
First Man
Captures the terrifying, claustrophobic, and mechanical reality of early spaceflight technology.
A 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.
- 04
The Right Stuff
The definitive epic look at the test pilots who risked everything to transition into the orbital age.
At the dawn of the Space Race, seven test pilots set out to become the first American astronauts to enter space. However, the road to making history brings momentous challenges.
- 05
2001: A Space Odyssey
A visionary masterpiece famous for its silent vacuum and scientifically accurate depiction of centrifugal gravity.
Humanity finds a mysterious object buried beneath the lunar surface and sets off to find its origins with the help of HAL 9000, the world's most advanced super computer.
- 06
Salyut 7
A gripping, realistic depiction of a high-stakes manual docking and repair mission to a dead space station.
USSR, June 1985. After contact with the Salyut 7 space station is lost, cosmonauts Vladimir Dzhanibekov and Viktor Savinykh dock with the empty, frozen craft, and bring her back to life. Based on actual events.
- 07
Proxima
A grounded look at the grueling physical and psychological preparation required for long-term missions.
Sarah is a French astronaut training at the European Space Agency in Cologne. She is the only woman in the arduous program. She lives alone with Stella, her seven year old daughter. Sarah feels guilty that she cannot spend more time with her child. Her love is overpowering, unsettling. When Sarah is chosen to join the crew of a year-long space mission called Proxima, it creates chaos in the mother-daughter relationship.
- 08
Europa Report
Uses a documentary style to explore the radiation and logistics of a mission to Jupiter's moons.
A crew of international astronauts are sent on a private mission to Jupiter's fourth moon.
- 09
Stowaway
A tense drama where the central conflict is governed entirely by the hard math of oxygen consumption.
A three-person crew on a mission to Mars faces an impossible choice when an unplanned passenger jeopardizes the lives of everyone on board.
- 10
Moon
A tactile, low-tech vision of lunar mining that emphasizes psychological isolation over spectacle.
With only three weeks left in his three-year contract, Sam Bell is eager to return to Earth. Stationed alone at a Moon-based facility with his computer assistant GERTY, an unexpected accident sets off a series of unsettling events that shake his isolation.
- 11
The Spacewalker
A thrilling recreation of the technical failures and life-threatening risks of the first human spacewalk.
March 1965. In the heat of the Cold War, the USA and the USSR are competing for supremacy in space. What both superpowers aim for in this race, is to be the first to have a man walk in outer space. To accomplish that, no price is too high and no risk is too great. Now it’s up to the unlikely duo of a seasoned war veteran and a hot-headed test-pilot to fulfill this mission. Two men in a tiny spaceship, without proper testing, facing the complete unknown. They were supposed to do what no man has done before—and no man imagined what would happen next.
- 12
Gravity
A visceral experience that captures the terrifying momentum of orbital debris and movement in a vacuum.
Dr. Ryan Stone, a brilliant medical engineer, is on her first Shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski in command of his last flight before retiring. But on a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes. The Shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalski completely alone-tethered to nothing but each other and spiraling out into the blackness of space. The deafening silence tells them they have lost any link to Earth and any chance for rescue. As fear turns to panic, every gulp of air eats away at what little oxygen is left. But the only way home may be to go further out into the terrifying expanse of space.