National Institute for Discovery Science: Edgar Mitchell

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Edgar Mitchell, Ph.D.

On January 31, 1971, Dr. Edgar Mitchell, then a U.S. Navy Captain, embarked on a journey through outer space of some 500,000 miles that resulted in becoming the sixth man to walk on the moon. That historic journey terminated safely nine days later on February 9, 1971 and was made in the company of two other men of valor—Admiral Alan Shepard and Colonel Stuart Roosa.

Scientist, test pilot, naval officer, astronaut, entrepreneur, author and lecturer, Dr. Mitchell's extraordinary and varied career personifies humankind's eternal thrust to widen its horizons as well as explore its inner soul.

His academic background includes a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Management from Carnegie Mellon University in 1952, a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautics from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in 1961 and a Doctor of Science degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1964. In addition, he has received four honorary doctorates from New Mexico State University, the University of Akron, Carnegie Mellon University and Embry-Riddle University.

In 1973, a year ofter retiring from the U.S. Navy and the Astronaut Program, Dr. Mitchell founded the Institute of Noetic Sciences. It is a foundation organized to sponsor research in the nature of consciousness. He is co-founder of the Association of Space Explorers, an international organization founded in 1984 for all who share the experience of space travel. Both organizations are educational organizations developed to provide new understanding of the human condition resulting from the epoch of space exploration.

He is author of Psychic Exploration: A Challenge for Science, (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1974), a major reference book; and The Way of the Explorer (Putnam, 1996). He is also author and/or interviewee in dozens of articles in both professional and popular periodicals.

As a lecturer, he delivers 25 to 50 addresses annually on cosmology, human potential and topics relating to the evolving future of the species on planet Earth. His most current lecture series discusses the implications of recent discoveries in science as they affect our individual lives in the home, the workplace and society-at-large. He is a frequent guest on radio and television talk shows and has been featured in several documentary films relative to his interests.

Retiring from the government service in 1972, Dr. Mitchell continues to write, speak and do research for a number of new books. He is a consultant to a limited number of corporations and foundations.

Dr. Mitchell's honors and awards include the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the USN Distinguished Service Medal, the NASA Distingished Service Medal and the NASA Group Achievement Award (three times).