A poster of Capricorn One (1978) starring O.J. Simpson, Sam Waterston and James Brolin

Capricorn One (1978) Classic conspiracy theory movie, drawing on the urban myth that the moon landings were faked. The first manned mission to Mars appears to be going well but it transpires that the space vehicle has a major defect which NASA just can’t admit. Over the many months of the mission, the astronauts send broadcasts to Earth on their progress and all goes well until their space capsule burns up on re-entry. They soon realise that the only way for the hoax to be maintained is for them to die. Features .J. Simpson who was later to ‘star’ in his own fact-is-stranger-than-fiction courtroom drama.

Pavel Chekov (Anton Yelchin), James T. Kirk (Chris Pine), Scotty (Simon Pegg), Bones (Karl Urban), Sulu (John Cho), and Uhura (Zoe Saldana) in the 2009 version of Star Trek

Star Trek (1966-2009) The Star Trek fictional multiverse created by Gene Roddenberry is the setting of six television series, eleven feature films, one theme park, legions of obsessive fans and a place on the podium of popular culture.

 

George Lucas (centre) directs a scene from Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith with Ian McDiarmid (left) and Samuel L. Jackson

Star Wars (1977-2005) The epic space opera franchise was initially conceived by George Lucas. As of 2008, the overall box office revenue generated by the six Star Wars films has totalled approximately $4.3 billion and the saga has had a significant impact on American life. When Ronald Reagan proposed the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), a system of lasers and missiles meant to intercept incoming ICBMs, the plan was quickly labelled “Star Wars”. This gained further resonance when Reagan described the Soviet Union as an Evil Empire.

A poster of Moonraker featuring Roger Moore as James Bond

Moonraker (1979) James Bond (Roger Moore) returns for another mission, this time blasting off into space. A spaceship is mysteriously hijacked and Bond must work quickly to find out who was behind it all. On his journey he ends up meeting the improbably-named NASA scientist-cum-CIA agent Dr Holly Goodhead and encounters the metal-toothed Jaws once again.

 

Sigourney Weaver stars as Ripley in Ridley Scott’s Alien

Alien (1979- 1997) In space no one can hear you scream. Following the Star Trek benchmark of challenging stereotypes, Ripley, a female warrior, battles across the galaxies with one of cinema’s most fearsome monsters.

 

(Left to right) Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon and Tom Hanks in Apollo 13

Apollo 13 (1995) Based on the true story of the ill-fated 13th Apollo mission bound for the moon. It’s 1970, and America has already achieved its lunar landing goal, so there’s little interest in this “routine” flight until things go very wrong.

 

The Clangers

The Clangers (1969) Legendary British children’s animation series chronicled the melancholically funny lives of a flutey-voiced family of woollen, knitted aliens living below the surface of a knobbly little planet far out in space.

 

A moment from 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) starring Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood and William Sylvester

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) Stanley Kubrick’s sci-fi masterpiece travels, via the dawn of time, to the moon and on to Jupiter, as man wrestles with technology and the next stage of evolution.

 

Sam J. Jones in and as Flash Gordon

Flash Gordon (1936) The original space hero offered escapism from the misery of the Depression for American film fans, back in a time when the evil Masters of the Universe had names like Ming the Merciless, as opposed to Goldman Sachs.

 

Sharon Stone in Total Recall

Total Recall (1990) Based on a story by Philip K. Dick — the doyen of sci fi — Arnold Schwarzenegger gets to flex his muscles in space, leading the cosmic slug-fest which depicts the liberation struggle on Mars, amid an orgy of special effects