By Steve Crum

Thirty minutes into the documentary, Good Night Oppy…and I am sobbing. The true story of a NASA mechanical land rover affects one’s tear ducts? Indeed so.

Before delving into the why, what and where, please do not confuse Good Night Oppy with the 2005 Pixar animated WALL-E. I initially DID confuse them. Both films feature a central robot that are similar enough in looks that they could be mechanical brothers. And both are essentially stranded on a planet. Although “Oppy” (a nickname for the rover) is definitely a non-emotional machine, WALL-E has feelings.

Oh, and WALL-E is relegated to a futuristic, devastated Earth. Oppy ’s beat is Mars.

During director Ryan White’s work, which runs 105 minutes, we follow NASA’s early plans to create two land rovers with the capability of being rocketed to Mars, safely landing, and triggered to begin moving around the planet’s landscape to photograph Mars. Soil, rock and atmospheric readings would then be sent back to earth for study.

With a two-year deadline to a 2003 blast-off from earth, scientists are pressured to construct, test and re-test both rovers. The Viking mission will require two rockets with one rover each. Christened Opportunity and Spirit, the identical units are built to somewhat resemble human beings.

Each flight lasted approximately six months, and each successfully landed the rover cargo. Meant to last 90 days each, the two Mars rovers surprised NASA engineers by exceeding that time. In Opportunity’s case, it was able to rove and send data to earth for an incredible 15 years!

This beautifully imagined film includes both archival footage as well as realistic computerized re-creations via Industrial Light & Magic. The latter, particularly when we follow Oppy’s trek across rough Martian terrain to find water, make up the breadth of Good Night Oppy’s awesome imagery.

Over the course of this film, it is impossible not to join NASA scientists as they become increasingly emotionally involved with Oppy and its/his amazing abilities.

The story, by Helen Kearns and Ryan White, is narrated by Angela Bassett. The Blake Neely score is peppered with pop recordings by The Beatles, Wham, ABBA, and more—songs played each morning by NASA to “wake up” their land rovers.

Oppy’s journey is never-to-be-forgotten…thanks in large part to the remarkable Good Night Oppy.   

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Grade on an A-F Scale: A