Edgar Mitchell

Edgar Mitchell
Name	Edgar Mitchell
Caption	NASA portrait, 1971
Birth name	Edgar Dean Mitchell
Birth date	17 September 1930
Birth place	Hereford, Texas, U.S.
Death date	4 February 2016
Death place	West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.
Occupation	Naval Aviator, Test pilot, NASA astronaut
Rank	Captain, United States Navy
Selection	1966 NASA Group 5
Time	9d 00h 01m
Mission	Apollo 14
Insignia	60px
Awards	Presidential Medal of Freedom, NASA Distinguished Service Medal

Edgar Mitchell was an American naval officer, aviator, and NASA astronaut who served as the Lunar Module Pilot on the Apollo 14 mission. He was the sixth person to walk on the Moon, conducting extensive scientific exploration on the lunar surface in the Fra Mauro formation. Following his career with the space agency, he became widely known for his advocacy of parapsychology and his controversial views on unidentified flying objects.

Early life and education

Edgar Dean Mitchell was born in Hereford, Texas, and spent much of his youth in the vicinity of Roswell, New Mexico and Artesia, New Mexico. He attended Carnegie Institute of Technology for a year before transferring to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial management in 1952. After completing flight training and serving as a Naval Aviator, he earned a second bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in 1961. He subsequently earned a Doctor of Science degree in aeronautics and astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1964, conducting research on midcourse navigation for space travel.

NASA career

Selected as part of NASA Astronaut Group 5 in 1966, Mitchell underwent intensive training in geology, spacecraft systems, and extravehicular activity procedures. He served on the support crew for Apollo 9 and was the backup Lunar Module Pilot for Apollo 10. His performance and expertise led to his prime crew assignment alongside mission commander Alan Shepard and command module pilot Stuart Roosa on Apollo 14. Prior to his lunar mission, he also contributed to the development of procedures for the Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle.

Apollo 14 mission

Launched aboard the Saturn V rocket on January 31, 1971, Apollo 14 was the third successful crewed mission to land on the Moon. Mitchell piloted the Lunar Module *Antares* to a precise landing in the Fra Mauro formation, the original target for the ill-fated Apollo 13. During two moonwalks totaling over nine hours, he and Shepard deployed the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package, collected nearly 100 pounds of lunar samples, and famously attempted golf shots with a makeshift club. Mitchell also conducted a private telepathy experiment during the trans-Earth coast, attempting to transmit thoughts to individuals on Earth.

Post-NASA activities and views

Mitchell retired from NASA and the United States Navy in 1972. He founded the Institute of Noetic Sciences to sponsor research into human consciousness and parapsychology. He became a prominent public figure, asserting his belief that some UFOs were extraterrestrial in origin and that governments, including that of the United States, were engaged in a cover-up. These claims, often referencing the Roswell UFO incident, were consistently dismissed by official bodies like the U.S. Air Force and NASA. He authored several books, including *The Way of the Explorer*.

Personal life and death

Mitchell was married three times and had six children. His personal experiences in space, particularly viewing Earth from the Moon, led him to describe an overwhelming sense of universal connectedness, an episode often termed the "Overview Effect." He lived his later years in Lake Worth, Florida. Edgar Mitchell died under hospice care in West Palm Beach, Florida on February 4, 2016, at the age of 85.

Awards and honors

For his service, Mitchell received numerous accolades, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, and the Navy Distinguished Service Medal. He was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame and the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame. Several schools and institutions bear his name, and his spacesuit is displayed at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C..

Category:American astronauts Category:Apollo astronauts Category:Moonwalkers Category:1930 births Category:2016 deaths