Movie: A Million Miles Away

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: Amazon Prime

I recently watched the movie A Million Miles Away after experiencing a summer with no blockbuster films addressing anything interesting related to space travel or alien life. I was happy that this new movie (available on Amazon Prime last month) addressed both, but the “alien” life related to migrant farmers seeking a better life in America.

You will quickly become hooked on the dreams of future astronaut José Hernández as he winds a narrow path to become a NASA flight engineer. You can see a clip of the film here.

The first hour of the film covers the story of his youth, education, and start of a family. After that, you are with him as he is tested by NASA trainers in a way that few of us can imagine. His story intertwines with the Shuttle Columbia disaster, which add another interesting and somber layer to his story.

The film is later interlaced with images of the actors and real persons, including images of José Hernández as he worked on the International Space Station.

Its a great story for the entire family. Yes, it is old story about following your dreams, but it also shows what other may sacrifice along the way to make the dreams of a child or spouse possible.

Rotten Tomatoes shows an Audience Score of 96 percent. I agree with the audience on this one.

Image (Credit): Astronaut José Hernández. (NASA)

RIP: Marilyn Lovell, Wife of Apollo 13 Commander

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Astronaut James Lovell and Marilyn Lovell at a 1969 news conference. (Paul Shane/AP)

Marilyn Lovell died on August 27th in Lake Forest, Illinois at the age of 93. She is the wife of astronaut James A. Lovell Jr., who commanded the troubled Apollo 13 mission. You can read her full obituary at the Washington Post site.

I just wanted to highlight one interesting piece from the obituary. It relates to the Lovell’s viewing the 1969 film Marooned shortly before the 1970 Apollo 13 crisis. The film, starring Gregory Peck and Gene Hackman, was a fictional account of three astronauts in a capsule facing possible destruction after a rocket failure. A short time later her husband would be one of the three astronauts facing a real crisis in a crippled capsule, while she worried below.

They say life is stranger than fiction. Luckily, Apollo 13 ended better for the crew. You way want to check out this trailer for Marooned and even rent it one of these days.

As for Marilyn Lovell, she led an amazing life here on Earth with her husband (now 95) and large family.

Rest in peace.

Podcast: Should We Be Talking to the Stars (or Exoplanets, to be More Precise)?

Posted on by onespaceman2000

I recommend you tune into another episode from The Planetary Society’s podcast Planetary Radio. In the episode, Space Policy Edition: The Policy Implications of Active SETI, we hear a discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of an active SETI program, and whether we can even cease outreach to the neighboring systems given what has already been transmitted and the nature of our world today.

The guest on the episode is Jacob Haqq Misra, Senior Research Investigator at the Blue Marble Space Institute of Science. He is the author of a new book, Sovereign Mars: Transforming Our Values Through Space Settlement, though his main points related to our SETI program.

For instance, whether or not people support an active or passive SETI program often depends on whether we believe in benevolent or destructive aliens. Of course, the matter is unknowable until it happens, yet fraught with fears based on what we know about ourselves and our own exploration.

The discussion also discussed the presentation of SETI in films, such as Contact, as well as the definition of intelligence itself, be it whales (remember Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home?) or even ChatGPT. And we are already past the point of turning off our “active outreach” given that interested aliens are probably looking for both bio-signatures and techno-signatures, which we are creating without any thought. Astronomers are currently searching for such signatures among the exoplanets, so it would make sense the same type of search is being focused on our solar system.

Plenty of food for thought. Enjoy the show.

Credit: University Press of Kansas

Movie: The Story of Carl Sagan

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Dr. Carl Sagan. (NASA)

Have you heard about the upcoming movie about Carl Sagan called Voyagers? Andrew Garfield of Spiderman fame will be playing Dr. Sagan. Daisy Edgar-Jones will play the part of Ann Druyan. The new film will be one of many shown at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, starting next week.

Here is the basic outline of the film by The Hollywood Reporter:

The film is set in 1977 as NASA is preparing to launch humanity’s first interstellar probes, the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 missions. A team, led by Sagan, sets out to create a message to accompany them: the Golden Record, a group of images and sounds meant to express the essence of humanity and act as a first-contact greeting for any galactic lifeforms the probes might reach. But what starts out as a race-against-the-clock mission becomes an epic, unexpected love story between Sagan and his collaborator Druyan.

I have seen Andrew Garfield in a number of films and TV shows, and he never disappoints. Seeing his take on Dr. Sagan’s story should be fascinating and fun.

With all the recent films and series on twisted business icons, I will be happy to take a break and watch a film that covers one of science’s great icons. Maybe it can encourage a new generation of scientists and supporters of science.

Movie: Dune, Part Two Trailer Available

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Preview image from Dune, Part Two. (Warner Bros.)

If you are a fan of Frank Herbert’s series Dune, as well as the 2021 film version of the first book directed by Denis Villeneuve, then you will be pleased to see the latest trailer for the second part of the film. It does not give too much away to those who do not already know the story, but it demonstrates that we can expect the same quality of film later this year.

It would be nice if the other books in the series get picked up by Warner Bros. in the way the Lord of the Rings led to increased interest in the tales as well as more movies. It is a tricky balance that can be abused, as we have seen with too many series, but carefully done it would be amazing to see.

You can read more about the upcoming film in a cover story by Vanity Fair. It also has plenty of photos from the new film (such as the one below).

Dune, Part Two should be in theaters by November of this year.

Image (Credit): Baron Harkonnen languishing in his restorative bath. (Vanity Fair/Niko Tavernise)