The Best Space Documentaries to Broaden Your Horizons

Humanity always took space very seriously, so we created many famous documentaries about space for science enthusiasts to watch. The list of best space documentaries is longer than one may expect, so we will not try to mention every famous documentary out there. Instead, we will try to focus on famous movies for beginners. A word of caution, though: before you watch any of these famous films, keep in mind that they are fiction to some point. Even if 'Man on the Moon' or 'Apollo 13' are based on real-life events, no one can say that they are 100% authentic. Many famous documentaries feature plot treatments and inaccuracies. However, these famous documentaries offer very good insight and a chance to spend a relaxing night at home, learning something new. Depending on what you want to learn about the cosmos and its exploration, you can choose one of the famous space documentaries to watch from our list below.

Space and Earth

What is the best documentary about the Universe?

One of the most famous and well-made documentaries about our Universe is 'Life in Our Universe', a six-part series created by Dr. Laird Close. 'Life in Our Universe' charts the scientists' progress in space, uncovering how we explore our Universe as a civilization. Humanity has always wondered if there's life on other planets, and this famous documentary might give you answers to the most intricate questions about our Universe.

Another famous history of space exploration documentary that sheds light on many interesting questions is 'The Journey to the Center of the Universe'. It's a 90-minute National Geographic show that takes you from our planet's sands to the known borders of our Universe. This film is not made with the most advanced special effects when considering current video standards, but it's one of the most famous documentaries that you can find on YouTube.

Universe

According to Orbital Today, you could also learn a lot about our Universe if you watch 'Cosmos,' narrated by Neil DeGrasse Tyson. However, you should note that this famous show is entry-level from a scientific point of view, so you might not like it that much if you are looking for something more complex. On the other hand, it has the best animations and special effects with which it impresses, so you can enjoy it a lot if you are into good visuals. Plus, this famous documentary is also a good fit for children — especially if you want them to develop an interest in science.

And, if you are into our technical progress as a species, you could also watch the 'Secrets of the Space Station', which tells a story about NASA's revolutionary and controversial space shuttle program, ever since it was launched and until its last mission. This famous documentary discusses satellite launches and how resources are transported to the ISS. It closely examines the ISS project and describes the life inside our planet's orbital hub. It's not easy to get to this station, but NASA and SpaceX work together to get as many astronauts and resources there as possible. And you can see how they do this in one of these famous space films.

Where to watch space documentaries?

You can watch famous space documentaries on TV, YouTube, or via other media channels. National Geographic and Discovery are two of the most popular TV channels for famous documentaries. Netflix, Amazon Prime, and HBO Go are other places where you can watch such masterpieces like 'Return to Space', 'The Mars Generation', 'Black Holes: The Edge of All We Know', 'Mercury 13', and many others. You can find parts of these famous documentaries on YouTube as well. However, you can't watch any of these movies on YouTube entirely. A famous space astronaut documentary fully available via this channel is 'Apollo Space Program Documentary: The Last Man On The Moon'. You can also opt for a space accidents documentary like 'Deadliest Incidents in Space History' on YouTube.

For the past few years, Netflix made a big entrance with many famous space documentaries. If you are subscribed to Netflix, we suggest you start with 'Elon Musk Space Documentary: Return To Space' to see how this prominent entrepreneur addresses space exploration with this company, SpaceX. In this film, you can see what SpaceX has accomplished so far. And you can also see the challenges it has faced while trying to get to orbit. Further, you will see how the SpaceX Falcon rocket was launched and got to the ISS. Finally, you will learn Musk's motives and how his team works to make space exploration more achievable for humankind.

The famous space documentaries we listed above barely scratch the surface of all available content out there. Give some of these famous movies a go, and you will not be able to stop searching for more amazing space documentaries.

Lesley Montoya

Update 04 July 2023