At 91, William Shatner of Star Trek fame had become the oldest person to travel to space when he flew out in a Blue Origin spacecraft owned by Jeff Bezos. Opening about the experience in his new book Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder, the actor wrote that the trip felt like a funeral.
Instead of the "ultimate catharsis" that he expected after the "historic flight" in 2021, Shatner said he felt an overwhelming sense of grief.
“I love the mystery of the universe. I love all the questions that have come to us over thousands of years of exploration and hypotheses … but when I looked in the opposite direction, into space, there was no mystery, no majestic awe to behold … all I saw was death,” Shatner wrote in his book, an excerpt of which was published by Variety.
He also said that the voyage kindled in him a newfound appreciation for the beauty of Earth. When in space, William Shatner discovered that the beauty isn't "out there", it's "down there" on Earth.
"Leaving that behind made my connection to our tiny planet even more profound," the actor wrote. "It was life. Nurturing, sustaining, life. Mother Earth. Gaia. And I was leaving her."
Shatner added that he later learned that what he was feeling was called the "Overview Effect" and is "not uncommon among astronauts."
"It was among the strongest feelings of grief I have ever encountered. The contrast between the vicious coldness of space and the warm nurturing of Earth below filled me with overwhelming sadness," the Star Trek actor wrote in his book.
"Every day, we are confronted with the knowledge of further destruction of Earth at our hands: the extinction of animal species, of flora and fauna... things that took five billion years to evolve, and suddenly we will never see them again because of the interference of mankind. It filled me with dread. My trip to space was supposed to be a celebration; instead, it felt like a funeral."
Shatner's experience also ignited in others a renewed appreciation for Earth and vigour to conserve it. Appreciating Shatner's account of his space travel experience, industrialist Anand Mahindra had tweeted, "All space travel will be worth if it makes us more appreciative of and more active in making our own planet better."
Read more: William Shatner, the original Captain Kirk, to become oldest person to fly to space
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