Astronauts share why returning to Earth is the ‘most terrifying thing’

Astronauts have shared why coming back down to Earth is the most terrifying part of the whole journey.

While blasting off into space seems like a fairly daunting experience, it turns out that one particular part is scarier than the rest.

Several astronauts have shared their feelings about re-entry, admitting that although it’s very ‘interesting’ it’s also pretty darn terrifying.

In fact, they believe it is the ‘most dangerous thing’ an astronaut can do.

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Astronauts put themselves through a lot

For most of us, the idea of going into space is a childhood dream that we’re unlikely to ever realize, although Elon Musk has revealed plans to change that.

But for the lucky few who do manage to make it into space, it is – as you can imagine – an absolutely life-changing experience.

So much so, that NASA astronaut Ronald Garan, who spent 178 days in space, said in 2022 that being so far above our planet made him realize that we humans are ‘living a lie’ down here on Earth.

There’s even a name for the unique phenomenon astronauts may experience.

It’s known as the ‘overview effect’ and is summed up as the ‘unexpected and overwhelming emotion’ they may feel as they look at Earth from above.

And things aren’t plain sailing after that, either, with several astronauts admitting that re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere is about as scary as you’d think.

It’s ‘pretty freaking scary’ returning to Earth

Speaking on the National Geographic documentary One Strange Rock, several astronauts commented on returning to Earth, explaining why it was ‘the most dangerous thing an astronaut will ever do’.

“During re-entry, the window seat is… interesting,” one said.

Another said that if you happened to glance out of the window during re-entry you’d see ‘orange and purple flames of 3,000 degrees’, which are incredibly close by.

“That’s pretty freaking scary,” they added.

“Flying the Russian Soyuz is a little bit, like, maybe, flying a meteorite home,” another astronaut said.

And if that isn’t enough to put you off, all of this is happening while the vessel is travelling at speeds of 28,163km/h (17,500mph).  

Yeah, you can count us out.