"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" were the iconic words spoken by American astronaut Neil Armstrong, when he first stepped foot on the Moon in 1969. His words are becoming once again fruitful as NASA prepares to send humans around the Moon with Artemis II nearly five decades after Apollo redefined the horizon.

The Artemis II is set to take off on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, from Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida at 6:24 PM ET.

At a moment when spaceflight is once again accelerating, documentaries have become the most immediate way to track that momentum. And below are five such space documentaries, and where to watch them.

Streaming on Netflix, Our Universe (released November 22, 2022) is structured as a six-part series narrated by Morgan Freeman, quite literally the preeminent voice of narration. It traces the formation of the universe and the solar system while tying those cosmic processes directly to life on Earth. It links stellar events, planetary conditions, and biological evolution through CGI-driven storytelling.

Freeman’s narration stabilizes scale, giving weight and clarity to otherwise overwhelming cosmological ideas. He extends that same authority to Netflix’s 2026 nature documentary The Dinosaurs. The series operates on a dual scale: the macro—cosmic expansion, solar energy- and the micro— oceans, ecosystems, survival. Its central thesis is precise: life on Earth is not incidental, but contingent on a chain of astronomical events. 

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Because once the mechanics of our own existence are understood, the question shifts: could those same rules produce life elsewhere?

Released December 2, 2020 and available on Netflix, Alien Worlds builds directly on that question. Narrated by Sophie Okonedo, the four-part docuseries constructs speculative ecosystems on exoplanets, i.e. planets outside of our solar system, using established principles from astronomy, astrobiology, and evolutionary science.

Each episode models a different planetary condition, dual-star systems, low gravity, extreme climates, and extrapolates how life might adapt. That speculative exercise, however, leads into a more difficult boundary.

Imagining distant worlds is one thing, but confronting the limits of observable knowledge is another entirely.

Widely released in 2020 and streaming on Netflix, this documentary follows the global scientific effort to image a black hole for the first time. It incorporates the work of leading physicists, including references to Stephen Hawking, and examines the Information Paradox alongside the Event Horizon Telescope project.

The film is grounded in process: years of data collection, algorithmic reconstruction, and international collaboration. Understanding the universe at that level inevitably redirects attention back to Earth, specifically to the systems and institutions attempting to bridge that distance in real time.

Released April 7, 2022 and available on Netflix, Return to Space documents SpaceX and its partnership with NASA, focusing on the development of crewed missions to the International Space Station. The film centers on the launches involving astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, while also tracking the broader objective of commercializing access to orbit.

And any forward movement carries the weight of past missions that reshaped protocols through failure.

Released September 16, 2020 and streaming on Netflix, this four-part docuseries examines the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster of 1986. Through interviews with engineers, officials, and the families of the seven crew members, it reconstructs the sequence of decisions that led to the explosion 73 seconds after launch. The Challenger shuttle crew, of seven astronauts, including the pilot, aerospace engineers, and scientists died tragically in the explosion of their spacecraft Challenger STS-51L.

Space documentaries, at their best, do not simplify the cosmos, they contextualize it. From planetary formation to speculative biology, from black hole imaging to modern rocket launches and historic failures, these five titles map a continuum of inquiry.

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If Artemis II signals a return to lunar orbit, these films serve as the necessary prelude. Which one are you choosing to watch? Share your thoughts in the comments.