9 best space documentaries to watch if you liked Apollo 13: Survival

9 best space documentaries to watch if you liked Apollo 13: Survival (Image via Netflix)
9 best space documentaries to watch if you liked Apollo 13: Survival (Image via Netflix)

Netflix has just released their latest documentary film, Apollo 13: Survival. Directed by Peter Middleton, the almost two-hour-long film arrived on Netflix on September 5, 2024.

The Apollo 13 space program was set to be a crewed landing mission on the moon but turned out to be a nightmare for the astronauts on board. Two days into their flight, an oxygen tank explosion disabled the electrical and life support systems in the shuttle. The three-man crew of Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise had to abort their primary objective and improvise their safety till their return.

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Apollo 13: Survival utilizes an extensive library of archival film footage, audio recordings, home videos from the Lovell family, and interviews of the crew themselves to paint a detailed blueprint of what went down in 1970.

For those who liked Netflix's latest space documentary, Apollo 13: Survival, and are looking for other similar titles to binge, this article features a perfectly curated list of movies. The following titles are some of the most exciting and intriguing documentaries on all things space.


Apollo 11, Cosmos, and more - 9 of the most gripping space documentaries like Apollo 13: Survival

1) Apollo 11

A screenshot from Apollo 11 (Image via Neon)
A screenshot from Apollo 11 (Image via Neon)

Apollo 11 is an iconic documentary film Neon. Todd Douglas Miller chaired the film as the director, editor, and producer. The documentary premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival before releasing across theaters.

The film was completely made up of archival footage, including previously unseen 70mm film footage from the Apollo program and its astronauts. The documentary visually stitches together a narrative in the absence of any narrator.

Apollo 11 is a prominent space documentary revolving around one of the most landmark moments in human history - landing on the moon. The film covers the entirety of the process from the preparations to the momentous launch, the journey of the astronauts, and the pivotal moment everyone was looking forward to, similar to Apollo 13: Survival.


2) Cosmos: A Personal Voyage

A screenshot from Cosmos: A Personal Voyage (Image via PBS)
A screenshot from Cosmos: A Personal Voyage (Image via PBS)

If you are remotely interested in the expansive nothingness we call space, then Carl Sagan's Cosmos: A Personal Voyage is a must-watch. Cosmos: A Personal Voyage is a documentary mini-series from the house of PBS. Directed by Adrian Malone, the series is presented by Carl Sagan who also helped create it alongside Ann Druyan and Steven Soter.

The series had its broadcast premiere in 1980 on PBS, becoming one of the most-watched shows in American TV history. Cosmos released 13 episodes that were an hour each as well as a companion book and OST of the same name.

Cosmos: A Personal Voyage is the most iconic show from the 80s that educated and talked about the interstellar vacuum and the existence of life and humans within it.


3) Apollo: Missions To The Moon

A screenshot from Apollo: MIssions to the Moon (Image via National Geographic)
A screenshot from Apollo: MIssions to the Moon (Image via National Geographic)

Apollo: Missions to the Moon is a documentary film from the house of National Geographic. Written and directed by Tom Jennings, the feature-length documentary was released in July 2019, on completing 50 years of mankind landing on the moon.

According to Nat Geo, Missions to the Moon had access to a library of 500 hours of archival footage and interviews, alongside 800 hours of audio and 10,000 photos from the entire Apollo Space Program. Unlike Apollo 11 (2019) and the recent, Apollo 13: Survival (2024), Missions to the Moon explores the entire decade-long project.

If Apollo 13: Survival piqued viewers' interest, National Geographic's comprehensive documentary is a great title to understand the politics, incentives, and chronology of putting man on the moon.


4) Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman

A screenshot from Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman (Image via Science Channel)
A screenshot from Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman (Image via Science Channel)

Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman is a science documentary series from Discovery's Science Channel. The show premiered in 2010 with an 8-episode first season and went on to air eight seasons before concluding in 2017.

The show is presented and hosted by popular actor, Morgan Freeman, while prominent faces from the scientific community like Michio Kaku and Sean Carroll come in to explain more complex concepts such as the ones dealt with in Apollo 13: Survival.

Instead of having a single overarching topic, each episode of the show tackles and delves into a new question.


5) Alien Worlds

A screenshot from Alien Worlds (Image via Netflix)
A screenshot from Alien Worlds (Image via Netflix)

Alien Worlds is a British sci-fi nature docufiction series from the house of Netflix. Created by Jeremy Dear and Tim Lambert, the show arrived on the streaming platform in December 2020 with four 45-minute episodes. Unlike Apollo 13: Survival, Alien Worlds is primarily a fictional series or a speculative documentary.

However, each episode with every minute detail is based on extensive calculations and scientific research. The show brings together astronomers, ecologists, astrobiologists, and personnel from other necessary fields to discuss the possibility of extraterrestrial life and how different it would be with varying external factors.


6) Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey

A screenshot from Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (Image via Fox)
A screenshot from Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (Image via Fox)

Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey is a scientific docuseries from Fox. The series was released in 2014 as a sequel to Carl Sagan's 1980s show, Cosmos: A Personal Voyage. The reboot was presented by one of the most prominent astrophysicists of our time, Neil deGrasse Tyson, while Ann Druyan and Steven Soter returned to write the screenplay.

Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey also aired 13 episodes, similar to its predecessor. The show reprises motifs and elements from its earlier iteration while upgrading the graphics and visuals, making it a true sequel to Sagan's Cosmos.

Another sequel, Cosmos: Possible Worlds, was released on National Geographic in 2020.


7) Black Holes: The Edge of All We Know

A screenshot from Black Holes: The Edge of All We Know (Image via Giant Pictures)
A screenshot from Black Holes: The Edge of All We Know (Image via Giant Pictures)

Black Holes: The Edge of All We Know is a scientific documentary from Giant Pictures. Directed by Peter Galison, the film was released between 2020 and 2021 across different countries. Along with Apollo 13: Survival, this film is currently available for streaming on Netflix.

The Edge of All We Know is a documentation of the process, united efforts, and perseverance of a group of scientists across the world who had taken the massive undertaking of imaging a black hole. The film dives further into exploring our limited knowledge of the elusive space-time entity.

Just like Apollo 13: Survival, Black Hole: The Edge of All We Know is a great documentary to watch for any space enthusiast.


8) Into The Universe with Stephen Hawking

A screenshot from Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking (Image via Discovery Channel)
A screenshot from Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking (Image via Discovery Channel)

Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking is a documentary limited series from the house of Discovery Channel. The series was written by Stephen Hawking who also presented the show alongside Benedict Cumberbatch's narration.

Into the Universe delves into age-old questions which have perplexed scientists through centuries. The series is divided into three episodes, each episode taking on topics like the possibility of alien life, the concept of time travel and its paradoxes, and the history and fate of the universe at large.

Stephen Hawking's iconic computer-generated voice talking about and visualizing the grand cosmos is as iconic as it gets for space enthusiasts.


9) The Mars Generation

A screenshot from The Mars Generation (Image via Netflix)
A screenshot from The Mars Generation (Image via Netflix)

The Mars Generation is a Netflix documentary film. Michael Barnett directed the movie with a screenplay that he wrote alongside Michael Mahaffie. The film premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival before arriving for streaming on Netflix.

The film follows a group of teenagers from across the U.S., who have come to Space Camp with the aspirations of becoming the generation that puts humans on the planet Mars. The documentary even has prominent faces from the scientific community like Neil deGrasse Tyson and Bill Nye, who share their hopes and insights on the future of space exploration.

While something like Apollo 13: Survival is a study of our past failure, The Mars Generation is a beacon of hope for what the future has in store for us.


These were our top picks of documentary films and shows based on the unending mysteries of space that are similar to Apollo 13: Survival. If looking up at the sky floods your mind with curiosity and wonder, then these space documentaries are right up your alley.

If looking for a more freshly released title, Netflix has just dropped their latest documentary, Apollo 13: Survival, on September 5, 2024.

Edited by Apoorva Jujjavarapu
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