Billionaire Jared Isaacman, the first billionaire to conduct a private spacewalk, recently shared that his experience in space was anything but “peaceful” compared to the hardships faced by Atlantic Ocean explorers.
Isaacman, the founder of Shift4 Payments, completed this spacewalk during SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission, which returned to Earth last Sunday.
During a discussion on X Spaces this Tuesday, Isaacman recounted his impressions, stating, “Viewing Earth was incredibly special. However, looking into the darkness of space and seeing the gritty appearance of our spaceship highlighted the challenges ahead.”
His reflections follow SpaceX’s announcement of its intent to launch an unmanned mission to Mars within two years and a manned mission within four.
Isaacman likened the daunting vastness of space to the unknowns faced by explorers 500 years ago when they set out to cross the Atlantic Ocean.
He emphasized that the sense of danger and hostility in space should not be seen as deterrents but as challenges to overcome, mirroring the spirit of historic explorers.