As much as I like writing about space events, I also love space movies. And today I discovered that I hadn’t written an article on what I thought were the best space movies. Not the Sci-fi genre, but the more realistic side of space. 

10: The Right Stuff 

Based on Tom Wolfe's novel, the movie shows the Mercury 7 astronauts as they race to beat the Soviet Union in the early period of the space race. They will have to face many unknown dangers, unexpected consequences, and pain staking delays.     

9: A Million Miles Away

The true story of NASA Astronaut Jose M. Hernandez and his quest to become the first Mexican-American immigrant to fly into space. He was rejected 11 times but never gave up hope and finally in 2001 he was expected, but even then he had to wait seven years before he could reach space. 

(A personal comment, I found it a heartwarming tale and triumph for all space movies.)

8: Deep Impact 

Some people may call it a knock off of the famous Armageddon released the same year. But Deep Impact is good in its own ways. Oscar award winning actor Morgan Freeman delivers a fantastic performance and memorable quotes. And it has also been praised by NASA for being more accurate then Armageddon. 

7: First Man

The true story of Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon and his journey at NASA. The story takes place over a course of 8 years, from Armstrong flying supersonic jets to his first step on the moon. The movie shows his personal life and the personal challenges he faced trying to get to the moon. 

6: Apollo 13

Another incredible true story based on the near disaster in space. And how three astronauts and thousands of scientists and engineers came together to get them safely back home to Earth using the Moon’s gravity to shoot them back home. Featuring actors Tom Hanks and Bill Paxton

5: Armageddon

When NASA discovers that a killer asteroid is heading towards Earth, they decide to recruit a team of oil miners to drill a hole in the asteroid so they can plant a bomb and destroy the threat. However the crew has no experience with space flight whatsoever, but with the clock ticking it's up to them to save humanity. Starring Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, Steve Buscemi, Owen Wilson, and Liv Tyler. 

4: Interstellar 

An Oscar award winning movie tells the story of a dying Earth. Knowing that the planet is on its last leg, an undercover NASA agent launches a mission to a nearby black hole. Following Einstein's general relativity equations, (if you don’t know what it means here's a simple breakdown. Albert Einstein made an equation that said if you enter a black hole you would be teleported through time and space. You would then come out of another black hole, it works basically like a portal. However, this theory has never been proved correct.) After traveling through the portal, astronaut Joseph Cooper must search for a habitable planet that could sustain humans. 

3: Gravity 

Winner of 7 Oscars, the movie takes the attention of the rising number of space debris and what may happen if a disastrous incident were to occur. What begins with an inexperienced astronaut’s uneventful mission turns into a case of survival. Facing impossible odds, astronaut Ryan Stone must find a way back to Earth or become a part of the debris. 

2: Apollo 11

The true story of the first moon landing. That explores every factor of the mission in a very historically accurate format. Includes all the successes and near disasters that happened on that trip that changed everything. 

1: The Martian

Matt Damon plays an astronaut that is left on Mars. Alone with limited food and water supplies it seems like he will be the first human to be buried on Mars. But he is not willing to die without a fight. Based on the bestseller by Andy Weir, the story of an astronaut who is alone on Mars who wants to get back to Earth. Alive, preferably.