William Shatner thinks 'we're gambling with the planet' after taking space trip

William Shatner says 'we're gambling with the planet' after going into space.

The Star Trek actor became the oldest man to travel to space last year when he blasted off in Jeff Bezos' New Shepard rocket.

The 91-year-old was part of the small crew who travelled in the Amazon billionaire's spacecraft, which was developed through his company Blue Origin.

However, while he was incredibly emotional at the time, and overwhelmed by the experience, Shatner now says it's made him appreciate Earth much more.

And it's also made him worried about what the future holds for his grandchildren.

Speaking to The Times, he said: "When I went up there and I could see the curvature of the Earth and the vast blackness surrounding it, it really hit home how much we don’t know and how we’re gambling with our planet.

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"I couldn’t help but think about the terrible burden that Clive, my two-year-old great-grandchild, is facing when he gets older."

During the once in a lifetime trip, Shatner and his crew, which included Bezos, got the chance to experience weightlessness as they reached a maximum altitude of just above 100km (60 miles).

After around 10 minutes, they then returned to Earth.

Prior to taking off, Shatner described himself as being "thrilled and anxious and a little nervous and a little frightened about this whole new adventure".

He said: "There is this mystique of being in space and that much closer to the stars and being weightless. I shall be entranced by the view of space. I want to look at that orb and appreciate its beauty and its tenacity.

"But I’ve got to think that once it’s done, once I’ve been into space and seen the universe and seen our Earth and the contrast between that hostility and this warmth, and how important it is to keep the Earth alive so that we don’t wreck it, we human beings don’t wreck it, that contrast in all of that is so dramatic to me."

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This comes after Shatner said he believes humans will one day live in space and holiday on Earth.

He said: "The idea is to get people accustomed to going into space, and then have the population excited about the idea of sending polluting industries up into space.

"So the industries that are polluting send their energy down mechanically.

"You come down here every two weeks to enjoy the beauty of Earth and go up there and work.

"The technology exists. It’s the ambition and the money."

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