Polaris Dawn crew recalls 'sensory overload' of spacewalk

In an exclusive interview, the four Polaris Dawn crew members opened up about seeing the planet from orbit and conducting the first all-civilian spacewalk.

Days after returning to Earth, the four civilian crew members of the Polaris Dawn mission opened up about their experience seeing the planet from orbit, floating in weightlessness and conducting the world’s first all-civilian spacewalk.

In an exclusive interview with NBC’s Lester Holt, which will air on NBC Nightly News on Tuesday, the crew — billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Scott “Kidd” Poteet and SpaceX engineers Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon — described the emotional side of their five-day journey.

“The perfection of what you’re looking at is just awe-inspiring,” Poteet said, recalling the views of sunrises and sunsets out the window of their SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. “It’s so mesmerizing because it’s such a beautiful planet.”

SpaceX's Polaris Dawn crew: mission commander Jared Isaacman, mission specialist and medical officer Anna Menon, mission specialist Sarah Gillis and mission pilot Scott Poteet.Polaris ProgramThe crew launched into orbit on Tuesday, Sept. 10 and splashed down early Sunday in the Gulf of Mexico, off the Florida coast.

Isaacman described the thrill and anxieties of plummeting through Earth’s atmosphere with only the spacecraft’s heat shield protecting it and those inside from extreme temperatures.

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/polaris-dawn-crew-interview-spacewalk-rcna171383

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