“Project Hail Mary,” a film produced as a passion project based on the 2021 science fiction novel of the same name by Andy Weir, attracted widespread attention and prefaced the return of yet another inevitable and generational space craze.

The movie, starring Ryan Gosling, follows the story of a failed mission to space, one in which Gosling’s character, sassy molecular biologist Dr. Ryland Grace must push his limits to save the world. The character is a renowned PhD biologist turned middle school science teacher, but he is not so eager to take on the challenge. 

Grace has been exiled from the scientific community for lashing out over a controversial approach to a theory about extraterrestrial life: that not every organism requires water to live. 

Thereafter, though, when a mysterious composition called Astrophage is discovered in a “petrova line” extending from the Sun to Venus, Grace is enlisted to discover the motives behind the Astrophage life form.

Grace’s efforts uncover that the Astrophage being requires travel to Venus for its reproduction, while consuming the Sun’s energy for its journey. A classic plot point to any sci-fi novel, the recruitment of Grace carries the implication of life or death for planet Earth, as the reproduction of Astrophage threatens to eat away at the Sun as the main form of energy for the organism. 

The objective is direct and simple: figure out why, out of the many solar systems in our galaxy affected by the Astrophage, one solar system’s Sun is not dying. A mission that will save the fate of the world, however, comes with the suicide of the crew members set to travel to uncover the mysterious solar system’s secret.

The film then picks up in a space shuttle, where a disoriented Grace finds himself stranded in the middle of the galaxy, his entire accompanying crew deceased, and with zero answers to ease his confusion. With the weight of the Earth on his shoulders, he must choose to push past his fears to save mankind. 

When all hope seems lost, though, Grace makes a strange friend, an alien named Rocky, who finds himself on a similar mission to save his planet. Together, the unlikely duo teams up to save their home worlds.

The movie also features the hit and beautiful single, “Sign of the Times,” by Harry Styles. When I heard the introduction to this song begin to play in the theater, I think I actually almost levitated from my cushy recliner seat.

Project Hail Mary, though, also revived the public’s obsession with space, something that was also motivated by the launch of the Artemis II lunar flyby mission earlier in April.

Before the release of this film, the obsession with space had really died down, and major movies with a galactic setting or theme had practically gone extinct. Besides Project Hail Mary, space films hit a dead end following the drop of Interstellar in 2014 or The Martian in 2015, sprinkling in a few Guardians of the Galaxy films here and there. 

The present combination of Project Hail Mary along with the Artemis II launch, though, has completely reinforced the space game.

Just like the story of the fictional character of Grace, the Artemis II crew has broken countless barriers and records for the spatial travel of humankind outside of Earth’s orbit and around the moon. The crew consisted of Christina Koch, the first female to orbit the moon, Victor Glover, the first person of color to orbit the moon, Jeremy Hansen, the first non-U.S. citizen to orbit the moon and commander Reid Wiseman, the the oldest person to travel beyond low earth orbit and orbit around the moon.

Since the launch of Apollo 17 in 1972, there had also been no human crew to make a lunar orbit mission and travel to the Moon, proving the historical landmarking of the Artemis II journey. The timely context, though, combined with the success of the Project Hail Mary movie, proves the return of yet another space obsession. 

It’s time to put our NASA hoodies back in the wardrobe, 2017 says it’s back.

Categories: Arts & Entertainment