Jeff Bezos says floating at zero gravity felt like a 'return to the womb'

• Jeff Bezos has spoken to podcaster Lex Fridman about what going to space feels like.
• He said that reaching zero gravity felt like a "return to the womb."

The sensation of floating in space at zero gravity felt like returning to the womb for Jeff Bezos.

The billionaire Amazon founder traveled to space in July 2021 as part of Blue Origin's first passenger spaceflight.

Alongside his brother Mark and two other passengers, Bezos floated in a weightless capsule at zero gravity for about three minutes before gravity began pulling it back to Earth.

He shared his feelings about the experience in the latest episode of the "Lex Fridman Podcast," which went live on Thursday.

"I'll tell you something very interesting: zero gravity feels very natural. I don't know if it's because it's like a return to the womb," he said.

"You just confirmed you're an alien," joked Fridman.

Bezos said that he wasn't at all nervous about the experience and that the whole crew was struck with the overview effect — the overwhelming feelings people experience when seeing Earth from space — while looking down at Earth.

"It was an incredible experience and we were laughing inside the capsule, and were not nervous," Bezos told Fridman.

"You see how fragile the Earth is. If you're not an environmentalist, it will make you one," he added.

During their two-hour interview, Bezos also discussed his vision for the future of humanity and told Fridman that he'd stepped down as Amazon CEO so that he could concentrate more on Blue Origin.

"Most of my time is spent on Blue Origin and I'm so deeply involved here now for the last couple of years," Bezos told Fridman.

The rocket company, which Bezos founded in 2000, has so far developed three space vehicles: the New Shepard, the New Glenn, and Blue Moon.

Blue Origin may try to launch the New Shepard again next week after more than 15 months of delays because of a mid-flight failure.