Celebrity Celebrity Deaths Celebrity Death News William Shatner Says Space Trip Reminds Him Why 'We Need to Take Care of the Planet' Star Trek legend William Shatner, 90, became the oldest person to ever travel to space on Wednesday By Benjamin VanHoose Benjamin VanHoose Benjamin VanHoose is an Associate Editor on the Movies team at PEOPLE. He has written about entertainment and breaking news for over five years. People Editorial Guidelines Published on October 14, 2021 11:52AM EDT William Shatner's trip to space has impacted his perspective on Earth. The Star Trek legend, 90, became the oldest person to ever travel to space on Wednesday. After returning from the suborbital trip on Blue Origin's New Shepard capsule, Shatner teared up as he told Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos — who made his own trip to space on his aerospace company's vehicle in July — that the ride was "indescribable." The Emmy-winning actor shared more on the TODAY show Thursday, telling co-hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb he was "overwhelmed" by the out-of-this-world experience. "When I was there [in space], everything I thought might be clever to say [about the trip] went out the window," he said, recalling an "ominous" all-black view from a window in space. "Everything else just stood still for a moment," he added. "I was overwhelmed with the experience, with the sensation of looking at death and looking at life. It's become a cliché of how we need to take care of the planet, but it's so fragile." "I was struck so profoundly by it," he continued. Every Must-See Photo from William Shatner's Trip to Space Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Shatner launched to space alongside Audrey Powers, Blue Origin's vice president of mission and flight operations; Chris Boshuizen, co-founder of Planet Labs; and Glen de Vries, co-founder of Medidata Solutions. According to Blue Origin's official website, the New Shepard vehicle seats up to six astronauts and is "fully autonomous," meaning there is no need for a pilot. The reusable craft's 11-minute flights are "designed to take astronauts and research payloads past the Kármán line — the internationally recognized boundary of space," the company's website says. On Wednesday, Bezos wrote on Instagram, "Bill, Audrey, Chris, Glen — you're about to share an experience that will forever change how you view the world. Godspeed. This is how it starts. 🚀"