The 21 Best Space Documentaries of All Time

Space on screen has meant restored Apollo reels, IMAX trips into orbit and patient science series hosted by famous astronomers. Archival purists and big-visuals fans will order these very differently.

1. 1
   Chasing the Moon

   Robert Stone's 2019 PBS series on the space race, told through rare archival footage.
   1000pts
2. 2
   The Farthest

   Emer Reynolds' 2017 documentary on the Voyager probes and the people who built them.
   888pts
3. 3
   Cosmos: A Personal Voyage

   Carl Sagan's 1980 13-part series that brought the universe into living rooms worldwide.
   874pts
4. 4
   For All Mankind

   Al Reinert's 1989 documentary weaving Apollo astronauts' voices over NASA mission footage.
   826pts
5. 5
   Unknown: Cosmic Time Machine

   Netflix's 2023 documentary on the engineers who built and launched the James Webb Space Telescope.
   753pts
6. 6
   Hubble 3D

   The 2010 IMAX film following astronauts on the final Hubble servicing mission.
   668pts
7. 7
   Good Night Oppy

   The 2022 film about the Opportunity rover's 15-year mission on Mars.
   668pts
8. 8
   Apollo 11

   Todd Douglas Miller's 2019 film built entirely from restored large-format NASA footage.
   565pts
9. 9
   The Universe

   History Channel's long-running 2007 series exploring planets, stars and cosmic phenomena.
   565pts
10. 10
    The Planets

    Brian Cox's 2019 BBC series telling the life stories of the solar system's worlds.
    439pts
11. 11
    Moonwalk One

    Theo Kamecke's 1970 film chronicling the Apollo 11 launch and lunar landing.
    439pts
12. 12
    Mission Control

    The 2017 documentary about the flight controllers behind the Apollo program.
    439pts
13. 13
    Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking

    The 2010 Discovery series in which Stephen Hawking imagines aliens, time travel and the cosmos.
    439pts
14. 14
    Return to Space

    Netflix's 2022 documentary on SpaceX's mission to return astronauts to orbit from US soil.
    439pts
15. 15
    In the Shadow of the Moon

    The 2007 film in which surviving Apollo astronauts recount their journeys to the Moon.
    0pts
16. 16
    When We Left Earth

    Discovery Channel's 2008 series charting NASA's missions from Mercury to the Shuttle.
    0pts
17. 17
    Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey

    Neil deGrasse Tyson's 2014 revival of Cosmos with modern visual effects.
    0pts
18. 18
    Challenger: The Final Flight

    Netflix's 2020 series on the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster and the decisions behind it.
    0pts
19. 19
    One Strange Rock

    Darren Aronofsky's 2018 series that views Earth through the eyes of astronauts.
    0pts
20. 20
    The Last Man on the Moon

    The 2014 portrait of Apollo 17 commander Gene Cernan, the last human to walk on the Moon.
    0pts
21. 21
    A Beautiful Planet

    The 2016 IMAX film shot aboard the International Space Station.
    0pts

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