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Ex-NASA astronaut shares absolutely terrifying experience he had spending two weeks at the bottom of the ocean

Home> News> US News

Published 15:14 25 Feb 2025 GMT

Ex-NASA astronaut shares absolutely terrifying experience he had spending two weeks at the bottom of the ocean

Living at the bottom of the sea isn't for the weak...

Brenna Cooper

Brenna Cooper

An ex-NASA astronaut shared the scariest thing he’s seen at the bottom of the ocean, and it would make anyone scream.

There’s almost nothing worse than being alone in the deep blue sea.

Considering we have only explored a tiny percentage of the ocean; practically anything could be swimming down there.

And the creatures we do know about don't look too pretty either - take a look at this lovely fella known as the 'demon fish' for example.

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With so many scary possibilities, only the toughest people are happy to risk venturing into its depths.

In this instance, it was Garrett Reisman, an engineer and former astronaut who lived down in the deep blue for two whole weeks with a crew.

Garrett Reisman experienced some unusual things at the bottom of the sea (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)
Garrett Reisman experienced some unusual things at the bottom of the sea (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

And it was down here that Reisman had an experience like none other before and it makes going to space sound like a walk in the park.

Before earning the honour of being blasted up into space, hordes of US astronauts have first headed down into the depths of the ocean and spent an extended period of time pitched up on the ocean-floor in a laboratory known as Aquarius Reef Base, just off the coast of Florida.

Heading to the bottom of the ocean in preparation for a trip to space may sound a little counterintuitive at first, but the extreme environment allows would-be spacefarers to get used being at the mercy of elements.

Speaking about his experience in 2020 interview with Joe Rogan, Reisman revealed the most terrifying encounter he had while living in the deep blue.

Recalling an experience while visiting the underwater toilet chamber, he came face to face with a goliath grouper - a fish that's 8ft long on average and weighs up to 800 pounds.

"I went down [into the water], opened my eyes and in the darkness with my flashlight and I saw like right in front of me this huge eyeball like about the size I don't know of a saucer," he said.

"This big staring unblinking great at me."

Naturally, the encounter left Reisman feeling pretty spooked, leading him to take off back to the main base in a fright.

"My crew come running with a guy like I've been bit by a shark or something and I'm like giant fish," he added. "It was a goliath grouper."

Imagine finishing your business and being met by this unit (Getty Stock Image)
Imagine finishing your business and being met by this unit (Getty Stock Image)

This wasn't the only bizarre encounter for Reisman either, as he also had to deal with deep-sea fish thinking his bowel movement was their dinner.

In order to take a dump, Reisman would have to pop on an oxygen mask, exit the base and swim to a nearby 'gazebo' toilet.

"The fish get accustomed to this," he continued. "As soon as you drop in the water at night it's like the dinner bell going off. Because this is feeding time."

That's right, just picture dozens of fish flapping around your bare backside in order to get a bite of dinner.

Additional words by Britt Jones.

Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Image

Topics: Space, Science, NASA

Brenna Cooper
Brenna Cooper

Brenna Cooper is a journalist at LADbible. She graduated from the University of Sheffield with a degree in History, followed by an NCTJ accredited masters in Journalism. She began her career as a freelance writer for Digital Spy, where she wrote about all things TV, film and showbiz. Her favourite topics to cover are music, travel and any bizarre pop culture.

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@_brencoco

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