In the next decade, NASA intends to send astronauts to Mars for the first time. To 
succeed, crew members will have to 
overcome unprecedented life-threatening challenges. And while many of these hazards are physical, the most elusive are psychological. Throughout their three-year absence, crew members won’t be able to communicate with Earth in real time due to the immense distance. The psychological impact of this level of disconnectedness and isolation—both from mission control and loved ones—is impossible to predict, endangering the mission itself. Directed to 
mitigate this threat is Dr. Al Holland, a NASA psychologist whose job is to keep astronauts mentally stable in space. Space: The Longest Goodbye follows Holland, rookie astronauts Kayla Barron and Matthias Maurer, and former astronaut Cady 
Coleman, among others, as they grapple with the tension between their dream of reaching new frontiers and their basic human need to stay connected to home. This conflict transcends space travel: how do humans balance the quest for progress with a deep connection to history and each other? Director Ido Mizrahy stops by for to talk about the feasibility of interstellar travel, the physical, mental and psychological adaptability of humans, and getting to know the extraordinary people willing to embark on a perilous journey into worlds unknown.
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For more go to: pbs.org/independentlens/the-longest-goodbye
About the filmmaker – Ido Mizrahy’s narrative and documentary films premiered at SXSW, Tribeca, and ND/NF, among many other festivals, and went on to win several awards. His films have been distributed by AMC, Sundance, Netflix, Amazon, and MTV. Mizrahy is co-directing a fictional VR experience, with Nir Sa’ar, that’s equal parts family drama and space thriller.
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“It’s easy to assume that the biggest hurdle to sending people to Mars is vehicle propulsion. Ido Mizrahy’s riveting documentary… suggests the real issue is isolation.” – Peter Howell, Toronto Star
“Succeeds in creating a real sense of the efforts it will take to get ‘soft, squishy humans’ to Mars” – Amber Wilkinson, Screen International
“It’s a fascinating documentary, yet the longer it goes on, the less desirable a mission to Mars seems.” – Pat Stacey, Irish Independent
“[A] fitfully intriguing, sometimes wide-eyed documentary…” – Ben Kenigsberg, New York Times
“As this insightful documentary suggests, the real challenge (of long-term space flight) may be in tending to the softest of software: the emotional health of both the intrepid men and women who make the trip — and those waiting for them back on Earth.” – Bill Newcott, The Saturday Evening Post