The
recent return of the space shuttle Atlantis, first after there was
trouble getting off the ground — launch was delayed four times, twice
by weather and twice more by technical glitches — and then after
experiencing more hiccups while on its mission to resume construction
of the space station, underscores the immutability of outer space’s
siren call. Apollo 13: Journey to the Moon, Mars and Back
offers an informative glimpse back on that same rich history, and
serves as an awe-inspiring reminder of the risks and fruits of human
exploration.

Collecting three separate Nova-sponsored features in a single, handy boxed set, Apollo 13: Journey to the Moon, Mars and Back kicks off with Apollo 13: To the Edge and Back,
a great non-fiction companion piece to Tom Hanks and Ron Howard’s
cinematic collaboration. With firsthand accounts from the pilots, their
families and the folks back on Earth manning mission control, the title
tells the gripping true story of the catastrophic flight of Apollo 13
and the heroic struggle to bring all of the astronauts back alive. To the Moon
casts a bit broader net, charting the impossible odds of NASA’s space
program and race to the moon, which began with then-President John F.
Kennedy’s call to service and heavenly investigation in the early
1960s. While the moonwalk of ’69 gets major coverage, the inclusion of
interviews with a variety of unsung heroes and bit players gives this
title a depth unrivaled by any space documentary.

The final mini-feature in the batch, Mars: Dead or Alive,
thankfully features no Val Kilmer. Highlighting the pioneering and
risky mission of twin rovers Spirit and Opportunity, the film details
the painstaking construction of the machinery as robot geologists,
searching for clues that can tell us whether this harsh and barren
planet was ever in its history a place that could have supported life.

Three separate Amray cases comprise Apollo 13: Journey to the Moon, Mars and Back,
all of which are stored in a sturdy cardboard slipcase. The films are
presented in 4×3 fullscreen, though it hardly matters given the
straightforward arrangement of the productions. Bonus materials include
a profile of NASA’s Donna Shirley on Mars: Dead or Alive; she
was the team leader of Sojourner Truth Mars rover mission. There’s also
some brief extra interview material, and printable materials for
educators to help facilitate further classroom discussion. B (Movies) C (Disc)