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Ex-NASA astronaut who stayed at the bottom of ocean for two weeks reveals the eerie thing he noticed

The man remained on the Atlantic Ocean floor for days and is proud of a story he lived to tell the world, one that sends chills down the spine.

BY TIYASA BISWAS

PUBLISHED MAR 1, 2025

(L) A Rorqual whale swimming in deep blue ocean water; (R) The astronaut appears on Joe Rogan podcast talking about a scary incident. (Cover Image Source: (L) Getty Images | Ashish Kamble; (R) Youtube | @JREClips)

Science has helped identify and group almost every creature existing on the surface of Earth. While the knowledge is fascinating in theory, witnessing life we have only read of in books can be terrifying. Ask former NASA astronaut and engineer Garrett Reisman who lived underwater on the Atlantic Ocean seabed for two weeks and faced a deepsea dweller so terrifying that his soul almost left his body. During an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast (@JREClips), astronaut-turned-diver narrated the scariest encounter he had with a fish “the size of a cow” 60 feet down the waters off the coast of Key Largo in Florida.

Scuba diver with large grouper. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Connect Images)

Host Rogan curiously picked the brains of his guest by asking him about his underwater voyages in an episode from 2020. Reisman did not hesitate to dive into the chilling story of a nighttime encounter after a quick loo break in the middle of the ocean. “What we call the gazebo, which is just a little dome that has air inside,” he said. Immersing into the experience once again, the expert painted a picture of him swimming out into the pitch-black Atlantic with no tank or company to hint at the risks of simple tasks like going to the toilet underwater.

Goliath grouper lying on the bottom of the sea. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | papa1266)

"You're in the pitch-black Atlantic Ocean 60ft down, no scuba tank at night with the sound of the ocean lapping against the dome, and you're looking down at this endless black, you know, just a black void,” Reisman explained. One could not help but recall the freaks of scary ocean movies like The Meg and Jaws, he said, that kept him on his toes. After finishing his deal in the dome, Reisman wore his mask and trunks preparing to head out. What followed next was something that would stay with him for the rest of his life. “I took a big breath, and I went down, and I opened my eyes in my mask in the darkness with my flashlight and I saw like right in front of me, this huge eyeball like about the size of a saucer,” he continued. The giant fish was staring right at him, unblinking.

Large Grouper Potato Cod in Aguni Island Okinawa Japan. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Martin Voeller)

The mere sight of it was enough to send him into flight mode as he rushed to his crew, who were concerned that a shark had bitten him. “I jumped in there, I’m screaming, I’m screaming and I’m like, 'Giant f***ing fish!'” Reisman recapitulated. The fish he saw was a Goliath Grouper, an Atlantic native that weighs as much as 800 pounds and grows about 8.2 feet, per a report by the Florida Museum of Natural History. As big and threatening as they may seem, Goliath Groupers could easily eat a whole human but they do not. These fish are often referred to as “gentle giants,” per Divers Direct.

The former astronaut said this was only one of the many challenges he faced living underwater. He simplified the particulars of using the toilet-like gazebo about 15 feet from their habitat, which was a go-to feeding place for the fish. “The problem is the fish get accustomed to this,” Reisman said, adding that his poop time was like a dinner bell going off for the small fish. Some species, like the angelfish, also can get right up into the rectum because of their body shape. A preventive measure was to simply whack them with his fins, like mosquitoes.

You can follow @JREClips on YouTube for more videos.