Tri-Cities astronaut featured in new documentary. How to stream it or watch on PBS

Annette Cary
·2 min read

Kayla Barron, the NASA astronaut from Richland, knows something about the isolation that astronauts will face on a three-year mission to Mars.

The graduate of Richland High School in Eastern Washington spent six months away from her husband and other family members on the International Space Station starting in November 2021.

Her experience in space is featured in a new documentary that looks at how astronauts will be prepared psychologically when NASA launches a mission to Mars for the first time, likely within the next decade.

The approximately 90-minute film “Space: The Longest Goodbye” had its premier at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival in 2023 and will be more widely available for United States audiences this spring, including on public television.

When astronauts yet to be picked leave for Mars, communication in real time will be impossible due to the immense distance.

NASA astronaut Kayla Barron works inside the International Space Station’s Life Science Glovebox conducting botany research looking at the genetic architecture of plant regeneration in space. Courtesy NASA
NASA astronaut Kayla Barron works inside the International Space Station’s Life Science Glovebox conducting botany research looking at the genetic architecture of plant regeneration in space. Courtesy NASA

What started as a documentary about the first crewed mission to Mars changed directions when filmmakers met Al Holland, a senior NASA psychologist, whose job is to keep astronauts mentally stable in space.

The psychological impact of the level of disconnectedness and isolation — both from mission control and loved ones — for the years of the Mars mission is impossible to predict, endangering the mission itself, according to Independent Lens.

The documentary is “about courage, intelligence, community, and trust for those brave enough and willing to reach new frontiers,” said Lois Vossen, Independent Lens executive producer. “But most importantly, it is about sacrifice.”

Kayla Barron of Richland was picked by NASA for its 2017 astronaut candidate class. Robert Markowitz/NASA/Johnson Space Center
Kayla Barron of Richland was picked by NASA for its 2017 astronaut candidate class. Robert Markowitz/NASA/Johnson Space Center

The writer and director of the documentary, Ido Mizrahy, said in an interview for the Sundance Film Festival that one of his favorite memories from making the film was interviewing Barron while she was on the International Space Station.

“It was the closest I ever got to being in space, even if it was only my voice,” Mizrahy said. “I was so over-excited when Houston’s mission control patched me in, I couldn’t believe it was really happening.”

Kayla Barron
Kayla Barron

Amazon lists the DVD for the documentary available to purchase for $14.99 on March 12. Greenwich Entertainment says it will be available on Apple TV and Amazon starting March 8.

It will premier on “Independent Lens” on PBS on May 6, but local schedules for the show may vary.

Crew-3 Mission Specialist Kayla Barron of NASA is pictured May 5, 2022, journeying back to Earth inside the SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft following its undocking from the International Space Station. Courtesy NASA
Crew-3 Mission Specialist Kayla Barron of NASA is pictured May 5, 2022, journeying back to Earth inside the SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft following its undocking from the International Space Station. Courtesy NASA