“Good Night Oppy” Remembers Beloved Mars Rovers

By Abigail Lee ‘25 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer

The story of the NASA rovers Spirit and Opportunity is almost too good to be true: two rovers meant to last 90 days on Mars survived far longer—one lasted 15 years. 

Ryan White found it naturally made a compelling logline when he signed on to direct a documentary about the rovers. Good Night Oppy follows the 2003 mission launched by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Although it concerns the intricacies of space exploration, the documentary is equally about the relationships people form to the robots and the discoveries they symbolize. White, who directed Ask Dr. Ruth and Assassins, drew from his childhood interest in space and science-fiction films when thinking about his approach to this project. 

“I loved Flight of the Navigator, I loved Short Circuit,” White said. “The narrative trajectory [of Good Night Oppy] was very similar to something like E.T. where you’re falling in love with a non-human character.”

The twin robots reached Mars in 2004 and were tasked with studying the planet’s geologic composition. As the film depicts, building the rovers was no easy feat, and there were technical malfunctions when the robots landed. 

Getting the audience to form an attachment to Spirit and Opportunity was an initial challenge for White, whose previous documentaries focused on human subjects. To his surprise, much of the emotion of the story was incorporated through talking head interviews with NASA engineers, who speak about the rovers as if they were their children.

“We have this assumption that those people in those careers are so unemotional and detached and rational thinking,” White said. “Time after time, person after person, was just so emotional about this mission and were wearing their hearts on their sleeves.”

Like the engineers, the audience may come to anthropomorphize the rovers. It’s easy to do given the photorealistic recreations of the rovers’ movements and their environment. Using satellite photos of the rovers, the visual effects company Industrial Light & Magic rendered the mission so that viewers could feel like they were watching the events unfold in real-time. 

“We wanted it to be as completely authentic as it could be,” White said.

In addition to the visual effects, the film uses voiceover narration to create a sense of narrative immersion. White explained that narration was crucial to making sure the stakes still feel urgent, even if the film was about a past mission.

“There’s almost no way as a documentary filmmaker [that] you can lead an interviewee down a path where they are speaking in present tense as if things are happening,” White said. “The story has happened to them, so they’re always speaking in past tense.”

Angela Bassett is the voice of narration in the film—White’s first choice. Bassett brings an omniscience to the film as she contextualizes the developments of the mission. The actress was recorded with several microphones so that a theater audience could feel surrounded by her voice. 

“I don’t even call it narration…I really see it as a performance. She’s playing the voice of NASA,” White said. 

The documentary is comprehensive, covering the initial launch of Spirit and Opportunity to the new generations of NASA engineers who joined the mission later on. NASA archival footage shows both the grueling and exhilarating moments of working on the mission—both of which are often complemented by popular songs, such as “Here Comes the Sun” or “Walking on Sunshine.” As much as it is a science documentary, the film is also deeply anchored to the human life behind the accomplishments.

White sought to communicate how strong of a driving force a love for planetary exploration can be. The film is accessible to audiences of all ages because it taps into the potency of innate curiosity about space. 

“As we get older, we lose a little bit of that idealism or wonder and awe,” White said.

When it comes to Mars, White is optimistic that humans will land on the planet in a matter of time. The film makes a convincing case for placing your faith in the technological advancements of space exploration, but the appeal in the story of Spirit and Opportunity remains the genuine connections people formed to the rovers. 

“It was always just a heartwarming, character-based story,” White said.

Good Night Oppy opens to a limited release Nov. 4 and will be available on Amazon Prime Video on Nov. 23.