Good Night Oppy

What a beautifully done documentary. I'm old enough to remember the promise of the 21st century that was popularized in the 1960s. To say that this century so far has been disappointing is an understatement. Following current events can be disheartening.

Then I watch something like this and I am reminded that there are people in the world who are still working on that promise my 6th grade science teacher made about how exciting space exploration would be in "the future." These are the people who are keeping that hopefulness alive and I am grateful for them.

This film is made in that spirit of my 6th grade teacher. It isn't highly technical and doesn't seek to teach the technical or science behind the mission. Instead, it is inspirational and enlightening because it reminds us that it really isn't robots exploring other worlds, but human beings who are dedicated to something that will make a mark on the future.

Humans are on Mars and they are exploring another planet.

We all make ripples in our worlds that go further and last longer than our short lives on earth. These dedicated engineers and scientists are remarkable and their ripples will be felt by generations to come even if no one knows or remembers their names. The knowledge they acquire will outlive them. I think that is what makes a human life meaningful. This film will help expand that meaning. I highly recommend this film to anyone who cares about those higher aspirations.

This documentary is made with love for two inorganic characters, that display endurance far beyond their design specifications.

The teams behind Spirit and Opportunity exhibit NASA's mission, vision, and values well. The film can serve as a recruitment vehicle for future scientists, engineers, and astronauts.

Autonomous vehicles explore what is inaccessible to humans in technologies current state. Good Night Oppy, explores the adventures of two unmanned vehicles as they traverse the inhospitable planet, Mars.

What these two vehicles encountered rewrote our history books and paved the way for the vehicles and people that will continue NASA's mission.

How does one make a documentary about two scientific wonders that is relatable , inspiring, heartfelt and educational at the same time? Well the producers tried and achieved this with flying colours. I watched this with my 11 year old space mad son and we both shed happy tears several times. An unbeleievable journey spanning 15 years which is so much more than just the machines themselves. It represents everything I love about NASA and the spirit of curiosity and discovery in human beings. I had no idea what it takes to launch such missions and I am so mush wiser after watching this. Surprised at the negativity on here - if people expect an unrelatable science lecture through this documentary - then they should get a hint from the loving title that this isn't what this documentary is about at all. A fantastic watch over the Christmas period which will leave you feeling all warm and inspired and restore your faith in the good things human beings stand for (amidst the constant stream of negative news). Just watch it!

I have given this documentary a 9 - i have not yet read other reviews but I will after this.

I really enjoyed this original/actual and compelling story of these two Mara Rovers built to last 90 days but fed back info for up to 15 years.

Its daft perhaps to think anyone could be emotionally attached to an inanimate object made by man - but you know what? They weren't inanimate at all - they really were the children of their creators and the emotion the team back on earth had for them was also felt by me - a simple viewer in UK.

The comparisons made between these machines and people made the real life connection between man and machine seem very very real (and it was!)

Excellent - thank you.

Greetings again from the darkness. "Check out the brain on Brad!" There may or may not have been a 'Brad' on the NASA team we follow in Ryan White's documentary, however Samuel L Jackson's famous line from PULP FICTION certainly holds true for the rest of the team that helped execute the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission. A brief overview outlines the attempts to gain approval, followed by the design and planning and testing to ensure the window for launch was met. See, the launch was scheduled according to a planetary alignment that only occurs every 26 months. A late arrival would have been costly, and possibly ended the program before it really started.

The mission was to send a rover to Mars and have it procure samples from around the red planet in hopes of finding evidence of water, which would likely mean proof of past life. We see some of the design stage as the engineers note the human characteristics, though most movie fans will immediately notice physical similarities to WALL-E. The team created two "twin" robotic rovers named "Spirit" and "Opportunity". The expectation was that each would have a 90-day lifespan and send scientifically significant data back. The race was on to meet the launch date in 2003, and the two rovers were launched three weeks apart - and to different areas of the planet.

After the 6-and-a-half-month flight time to travel 300 million miles, the two rovers were successfully landed, which only kicked off some of the challenges back on Earth in mission control. It's here, and with the numerous interviews of team members, that we really get a sense of the emotions running through these folks who had invested so much time and energy into making the mission a reality. Computer engineered reenactments (stunning work from Industrial Light & Magic) help us visualize what happened on Mars, while the archival footage from inside the NASA control room conveys the palpable tension as they helplessly wait for the next signal to arrive.

Although Mr. White's documentary centers on scientific achievement, much of the focus lands on the human element. We are there to witness first the relief, and then the jubilation as that first signal from Mars is received. Scientists, designers, engineers, and drivers all experience the rollercoaster of emotions driven by the intense camaraderie and teamwork involved. Should you ever doubt whether the smartest people on the planet experience human emotions, you need only look at the faces as daily 'wake-up songs' are played, including "Roam" by the B-52s, "SOS" by Abba, "Born to be Wild" by Steppenwolf. Additionally, after the 90-day window has closed, the annual "cocktail napkin" records each team members prediction about rover survival over the coming year.

Emotions and accomplishments go hand in hand for these NASA types, as do the challenges presented by harsh winters and dust storms that put west Texas to shame. It's remarkable that Spirit lasted more than 7 years, and Oppy (the "lucky rover") went for 15, before finally being shut down while Billie Holiday sang "I'll be Seeing You." Wisely, director White ends on a high not with the 2020 launch of the new rover, Perseverance. What an inspiring trip this is.

Opens in US theaters on November 4, 2022 and on Prime Video November 23.