An Astronaut's Crusade - An Interview with Dr. Edgar Mitchell, ScD

Ever since I was a child, I have been enamored by the space program. I read endlessly about astronauts, about rockets, the Saturn V, the moon landings, everything. I always envisioned my life as being part of this program that I loved so much. As is the case with most people, my life didn´t turn out quite like I thought it would. It turned out better! I am married to a wonderful woman that I might not have met had my life went where I thought it should.

One of my heroes was an astronaut named Edgar Mitchell. Mitchell was the sixth man to walk on the moon, and holds the record for the longest moon walk on foot, a total of 9 hours and 17 minutes, which occurred on February 9, 1971. I was getting ready to celebrate my second birthday!

Edgar Mitchell attended Carnegie Institute of Technology, obtaining a bachelors degree in industrial management. In 1953, he joined the US Navy, serving as a pilot, eventually becoming a research and test pilot. He continued his education, obtaining a bachelors degree in aeronautical engineering, then a Doctorate of Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Becoming an astronaut in 1966, his only space mission was as Landing Module pilot on Apollo 14 with Alan Shepard. It was at this time that his historic moonwalk occurred.

Dr. Mitchell retired from NASA in 1972. Since that time, Mitchell has been trying to get a message out to the American public that we are not alone.

Recently, he gave an interview to British Kerrang! Radio which stirred up a hornets nest, so to speak. Finally Dr. Mitchell´s message seemed ready to be received by the public, but was diluted by misunderstandings and misquotes.

On July 31, 2008, I was able to talk with Dr. Mitchell briefly about his message. Dr Mitchell is 77 years old now, and struck me as a very lucid thinker, a very amiable fellow, and an incredible American.

Dr. Mitchell was born in Hereford, Texas on September 17, 1930 and grew up near Roswell, New Mexico. During his teenage years, he remembers hearing about a crash and recovery of an extraterrestrial craft near Roswell. He was 16 at the time, and said that he really didn´t pay much attention to the story, but the lore persisted in the area even after the rest of America seemed to have forgotten it.

After his celebrated return from the moon, he started to be contacted by the locals he grew up around, mostly cattlemen and ranchers, and military and intelligence types who felt a kinship with him and felt they could trust him to get the story of their experiences and knowledge out to the public. They didn´t contact him as a group, but each one individually. They did not want such an incredible piece of American history to die away. They felt the public needed to know we were not alone in the universe.

Dr. Mitchell didn´t seek out the press on this subject, but because of his experiences as an astronaut, some reporters would naturally ask if he believed in aliens. He felt it would be a good time to relay the stories he was constantly hearing.

In 1997, Dr. Mitchell went to the Pentagon with a friend of his, a fellow military officer, both seeking disclosure of the Roswell incident. They met with a high ranking Navy officer who agreed to investigate. This officer eventually found the black budget group that had oversight of the study of the craft recovered from Roswell. This officer contacted Dr. Mitchell and advised that he was explicitly refused information about the event. In no uncertain terms, he had no need to know.

Dr. Mitchell stated that he has no first hand experience, he has never seen a UFO, and has not had contact with extraterrestrial entities. He states that his knowledge comes from statements made to him by trustworthy insiders whose individual stories corroborated each other. Without the names of these insiders, it makes independent verification difficult to impossible. The important thing to realize, though, is that this is a learned man with undeniable courage and love of country, and that gives some small measure of credibility. It acts much like a signpost directing us to other research into the recovered extraterrestrial craft reports. Basically, pay attention to what you are being told.

I asked Dr. Mitchell if he has ever received information on any alleged collaboration between our government and extraterrestrials. He said he continues to hear stories of such that the lore bears out, but that he has no firsthand knowledge.

He speaks of serendipity when he tells of a March 13, 1997 phone conversation he was having with colleagues living in Phoenix, Arizona when they advised him that lights were appearing over the city. It was dark at this time, and they could see the lights themselves. This event was immediately named the Phoenix Lights.

Dr. Mitchell has a strong friendship with Dr. Jesse Marcel, Jr., son of Major Jesse Marcel, the former intelligence officer for Roswell Army Air Field, who was first shown the crash site of what appeared to be an extraterrestrial space craft by ranch foreman Mac Brazel and placed as much debris from the craft as he could into his car. On the way back to base, Maj. Marcel stopped off at his home and showed the debris to his wife and son, demonstrating its unique qualities. He demonstrated what was termed memory metal, aluminum foil-like material that returned to its original shape when crumpled and I-beams that had strange hieroglyphic-like figures imprinted on the sides. His son continues to possess some crash debris and has shown this debris to Mitchell.

In September of 2007, Mitchell gave an interview for Coast to Coast AM in which he referred to his friendship with Werner von Braun, a preeminent German rocket scientist who developed the V2 rocket for Nazi Germany during World War II, then came to work for America developing the intercontinental ballistic missile. Stories began to spread that von Braun is one of the sources that approached Mitchell. When asked, Dr. Mitchell states that he had a great friendship with von Braun. Mitchell states that while von Braun was not one of his sources, he believed von Braun knew much more on the subject than he would say. People who work on high security projects are very accomplished at avoiding contributing to gossip or alluding to national secrets. These are people who very much desire to protect their dependability and remain in the high security arena.

Of decidedly more interest to the former astronaut is the condition we are leaving our home planet in. He talks with passion about the non-sustainable path we are on with overcrowding and depletion of our natural resources. This planet can safely and easily support 2 billion people with the current level of natural resources available. The problem is that we have 6 billion plus on this planet and we have countries like China and others who want to become more like the United States, which is by far the largest user of natural resources. He does not believe that this planet can take much more, and champions finding other resources off this planet. Sufficient resources can be mined from other planets, the moon, and asteroids within our solar system. Soon, travel will be possible to other planets outside our system, known as exoplanets. We can find planets similar to our Earth to populate, thus relieving the stress to our home world. This alone tells of a common sense man who thinks outside the box. A man who loves his fellow man and the world on which we now live.

Dr. Edgar Mitchell, ScD. is an honorable American hero who has based his credibility on a seemingly incredible story of a recovered extraterrestrial craft. Dr. Mitchell has never backed down to pressure, has never been influenced by the hecklers and naysayers, but has continued his crusade to tell the truth to all who will listen, to ensure the truth never dies. Based on the type of man he is, sufficient credibility is lent to warrant a more sober investigation.