Top 10 Documentaries About Mars

Everybody loves a good documentary – they are informative, engaging, thought-provoking… it is why studios make them. The very first official documentary was filmed in 1922, called Robert Flaherty's Nanook of the North.

Documentaries about space can be all of the things mentioned above, but they also add a sense of wonder and excitement. Perhaps some of the more exciting space documentaries are those about Mars, such as the ones we list here.

1. The Mars Underground – 2007

2 Mars – 2016

Produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard, this Mars documentary mixes fiction with fact. The factual segment focuses on what could make a colonisation Mars mission possible and also why we should even consider colonisation. The fictional segment takes place in the year 2033, with a colonisation mission.

It is interesting to see a theoretical example of how we might reach Mars in the not too distant future.

3 The Mars Generation – 2017

The Mars Generation documentary looks at the potential of Mars as a secondary homeworld for humanity. We are shown the day to day-to-day trials and troubles of a young group of engineers and scientists that are dedicated to a future based on Mars.

The documentary also shows us just how far we have to go before Mars become a viable substitute for Earth.

4 Mars: Making the New Earth – 2009

This Mars documentary poses and outlines a different potential problem of making Mars our new home. There is an ethical dilemma that many people hadn’t considered, even after the arrival of this documentary, but probably should: should we ‘invade’ the Red Planet at all?

If life is discovered on Mars, and it is still a possibility, do we have the right to disrupt an existing biosystem that a life form is a part of? The filmmakers here include opinions from experts on both sides of the 'should we or shouldn't we?' debate.

5 Voyage of Curiosity: A Martian Chronicle – 2017

Curiosity Rover embarked on its remarkable and revolutionary mission to Mars in November 2011. Voyage of Curiosity outlines the hard work that went into the construction and testing of the rover technology.

The documentary is an amazing testament to the hard work and ingenuity that has brought us to this point, and will undoubtedly carry us forward into uncharted territory.

6 Mars, Dead or Alive – 2004

The Mars, Dead or Alive documentary successfully captures all the excitement that surrounded the Mars rover landings of early 2004. This documentary was first aired just as the first of the two rovers (Spirit and Opportunity) started experiencing communication issues with Earth.

Mars, Dead or Alive chronicles the MER (Mars Exploration Rover) project from initial design to surface landing. This mission was labelled risky because 2/3 of previous missions never made it to the Red Planet.

7 Mars Calling: Manifest Destiny or Grand Illusion? - 2018

This documentary charts the theories and findings of early astronomers such as Galileo and Aristotle, right through to the discoveries that continue to spark imaginations today.

"Mars Calling: Manifest Destiny or Grand Illusion?" is an examination of the aspirational quest to reach Mars. It is also a tribute to those innovators, past and present, that have played a role in making the journey a potential possibility.

8 When Will Humans Live on Mars? - 2014

Until very recently, space travel has been an activity that government-funded ventures could take part in. However, organisations like NASA have opened the door for private companies to take part, providing ‘incubators’ (office space, lab. access etc.) to Space X and Blue Origin.

Motherboard's documentary, "When Will Humans Live on Mars?” highlights a few of the companies working hard to make space that little more accessible.

9 Is There Life on Mars? - 2020

Right now, Earth is the only place where know for sure there is life. It is thought that life did once exist on Mars, and potentially still could. For the moment though, it is a complete unknown.

This documentary looks at the possibility of least finding fossils or microfossils (fossils of bacteria) and the hard work being undertaken by NASA to answer the titular question.

10 Looking for Life on Mars

With this documentary, you can follow NASA as Mars 2020 mission launched. This is the most ambitious mission of its kind in the hunt for signs of ancient life on the Red Planet.

The search for life is not the only mission aim – Perseverance, a car-sized rover nicknamed Percy was also tasked with testing special technology. This technology is designed to produce oxygen from the very atmosphere on Mars. It is hoped this could be used for fuel… Or for air on future manned missions.