NextThreeDays: Event Display

Apollo 14 Astronaut Edgar Mitchell - Film & Q&A
Venue: Lyric Theatre, Blacksburg
Directions: Google Map Link
Date: Friday, September 20, 2013
Time: 10:00 AM - 11:30 PM
Event Types: Speaking Engagements
Cost: Free

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Description:
Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell will be speaking and showing clips of the documentary "In the Shadow of the Moon" at The Lyric on Friday, September 20th.

Mitchell will share portions of the 2006 documentary, "In the Shadow of the Moon", about his Apollo 14 mission. The screening will be followed by an open question-and-answer session.

Edgar Mitchell will also have autographed books for sale and donate a portion of the proceeds to the Science Museum of Western Virginia.

On Feb. 5, 1971, Navy Capt. Edgar Mitchell became the sixth of only 12 men to step on the Moon. Of that elite dozen, which included Buzz Aldrin and the late Neil Armstrong 44 years ago, only eight now survive.

Mitchell, 82, was a test pilot for the U.S. Navy, and while on active duty he completed an M.S. in aeronautical engineering at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School and a doctorate in aeronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Mitchell also served in combat during the Korean War as a fighter pilot. In 1970, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

He was Lunar Module pilot for the Apollo 14 mission in 1971, flying with Alan Shepard who was the first American in space. Shepard famously hit a golf shot on the lunar surface that made international news as the only sport played on the moon. Said Mitchell: “After we had rolled up the solar wind experiment and put it in the data box, I did my javelin throw and he did a golf shot for the first ‘Lunar Olympics.’”

The Apollo 14 mission landed in the Fra Mauro highlands, where the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission was supposed to have traveled. The mission was watched closely world-wide because it was America’s return to lunar missions after the Apollo 13 near-disaster. It also was the first mission devoted to doing science on the Moon, while Apollo 11 and 12 primarily were to prove that astronauts could function and work on the Moon’s surface.

After retiring from NASA in 1972, Mitchell founded the Institute of Noetic Sciences and later wrote “The Way of the Explorer” to document his experiences with mysticism and space travel. He has spoken all over the world about the experiences and feelings of space travel.

All are welcome to this free event.

Following the event at The Lyric, Mitchell will present a public ArtsFusion Lecture about his training and educational experiences at the Fralin Live Science Institute at Virginia Tech starting at 1 pm. All are welcome.

This event is sponsored by the Science Museum of Western Virginia and the Virginia Tech Institute for Creativity, Arts and Technology (ICAT).

For more information, visit: http://www.smwv.org/events/ or http://www.icat.vt.edu/sites/default/files/0145%20ICAT%20Arts%20Fusion%20Edgar%20Mitchell%20poster_R2.pdf