Mutiny in Outer Space was filmed in six days at Producers Studio in Hollywood, on a budget of approximately $90,000. Space Station X and Invasion from the Moon were the film's working titles. Although it was filmed in the US, the film is an Italian-American co-production. In the US, Mutiny in Outer Space was theatrically released as the second film of a double feature with The Human Duplicators, another such co-production.
The film is obviously quite cheaply made and it has the feel of being a throw-back to the science fiction films of the previous decade. However, some of the ideas presented are really quite interesting, while others are fairly naive and embarrassing even for the time. Among these are:
In relation to the scene in which the old communications satellite is on a collision course with Space Station X-7, we are reminded of the presence of space junk being an ever growing hazard to satellites and space craft in low orbit in our own time!.
Ice Caves on the moon: Recently we have detected the presence of water ice on the polar regions of the moon and within craters that are permanently in shadow. This also presents us with the possibility of obtaining both water and fuel for future lunar bases and missions to other planets.
Probe Ship Number Five and its "electronic skipper:" So much of space travel in our own era in terms of guidance, navigation, rendezvous and docking procedures is becoming more and more routine and automated.
The fungus and its survival in outer space: The Apollo 12 mission to the moon brought back to earth a camera from a Surveyor craft that was accidentally contaminated prior to launch with a common type of bacterium, Streptococcus mitis. The bacteria had apparently survived dormant in the harsh lunar environment for two and a half years. It begs the question as to what else could survive the extreme conditions of outer space and what kind of potential threat would be posed to life on earth?
Finally, there is the question of the "human element" that General Knowland was so worried about in relation to our presence in outer space. Who is to say what kind of toll an environment for which evolution has not adequately equipped us may have on our physiological and psychological state?
The film is obviously quite cheaply made and it has the feel of being a throw-back to the science fiction films of the previous decade. However, some of the ideas presented are really quite interesting, while others are fairly naive and embarrassing even for the time. Among these are:
In relation to the scene in which the old communications satellite is on a collision course with Space Station X-7, we are reminded of the presence of space junk being an ever growing hazard to satellites and space craft in low orbit in our own time!.
Ice Caves on the moon: Recently we have detected the presence of water ice on the polar regions of the moon and within craters that are permanently in shadow. This also presents us with the possibility of obtaining both water and fuel for future lunar bases and missions to other planets.
Probe Ship Number Five and its "electronic skipper:" So much of space travel in our own era in terms of guidance, navigation, rendezvous and docking procedures is becoming more and more routine and automated.
The fungus and its survival in outer space: The Apollo 12 mission to the moon brought back to earth a camera from a Surveyor craft that was accidentally contaminated prior to launch with a common type of bacterium, Streptococcus mitis. The bacteria had apparently survived dormant in the harsh lunar environment for two and a half years. It begs the question as to what else could survive the extreme conditions of outer space and what kind of potential threat would be posed to life on earth?
Finally, there is the question of the "human element" that General Knowland was so worried about in relation to our presence in outer space. Who is to say what kind of toll an environment for which evolution has not adequately equipped us may have on our physiological and psychological state?