In honor of the 50th Anniversary of NASA I give you the Top 10 Space Movies. Also, in support of NASA, takepart to learn more about the global warming work their Goddard Center for Space Studies is working on.

And of course, let me know what space movies I missed and why you love them - I know there are tons -

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10) In the Shadow of the Moon - A meditation on being an astronaut and the time surrounding the first visit to the moon, this is a documentary not to be missed for any space lover.

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9) The Werckmeister Harmonies - OK, so this movie isn’t really about space…. The reason it’s here is because it has my most favorite space related scene in ANY movie. It’s below - watch it in a dark room with no distractions, you won’t be disappointed! When you’re done, watch it again…

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8 ) Sunshine - Danny Boyle’s space adventure is one of more beautiful space movies I’ve seen in sometime. It is a well crafted film with a simple well told story. Like many space movies, our heroes are there to save the earth, this time by re-igniting the sun. Plus Cillian Murphy has such a good voice!

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7) Apollo 13 - I should first mention that I greatly dislike the work of Ron Howard - he turns everything to mush in my opinion. But, there is no denying that Apollo 13 is a classic and great space movie with good performances and a moving story.

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6) Wall-E - It may have just come out, but I have no doubt that this will become a classic - and there aren’t a lot of movies you can say that about these days. For more, read my TakePart review HERE.

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5) Star Wars - I know, there are a lot of people who will argue this should be number 1. But given how awful the last 3 movies were and my belief that George Lucas doesn’t actually care that much about making good films and only wants to capitalize on the series’ huge fan base (could he release more stuff…?), I knocked it back. Of course the first 3 films are amazing - there is no debate there.

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4) Close Encounters of the Third Kind - Steven Spielberg may be one of my least favorite directors these days, but lucky for him Francois Truffaut is one of my favorite - and with Close Encounters Spielberg did something right in casting Truffaut in a small, but key role. Also, I have to admit the movie is pretty good…

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3) 2001 : A Space Odyssey - Stanley Kubrick makes a space movie - enough said. Of course though, this film is amazing, boasts one of the most familiar musical sequences/music and has inspired countless other films.

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2) Solaris - Andrei Tarkovksy makes a space movie - enough said. But if you want more, Solaris explores how we view love, humanity and our own consciousness. It’s phenomenal. Plus on a space list, you have to have at least one Russian film…

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1) Star Trek (all of them) - So, without a doubt, there are a lot better movie about space, but Star Trek and it’s movies, all of them, carry such an important political message that I can’t help but put it at number 1. There isn’t another show/movie that explores our responsibility as explorers and personal responsibility vs. duty as well. Also, for the most part all of the movies are actually really good - The Wrath of Khan, First Contact, The Undiscovered Country and The Voyage Home just to name a few. Get a taste below: