Edgar Mitchell

Ed Mitchell
Mitchell in 1971 during the Apollo 14 mission
Born	Edgar Dean Mitchell September 17, 1930 Hereford, Texas, U.S.
Died	February 4, 2016 (aged 85) West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.
Education	Carnegie Mellon University (BS) Naval Postgraduate School (BS) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (ScD)
Spouse(s)	Louise Randall ​ ​ (m. 1951; div. 1972)​ Anita Rettig ​ ​ (m. 1973; div. 1984)​ Sheilah Ledbetter ​ ​ (m. 1989; div. 1999)​
Children	6
Awards	Presidential Medal of Freedom NASA Distinguished Service Medal
Space career
NASA astronaut
Rank	Captain, USN
Time in space	9d 0h 1m
Selection	NASA Group 5 (1966)
Total EVAs	2
Total EVA time	9h 23m
Missions	Apollo 14
Mission insignia
Retirement	October 1, 1972
Signature
Notes
Autograph of Edgar D. Mitchell with Noetic Sciences business card

Edgar Dean "Ed" Mitchell (September 17, 1930 – February 4, 2016) was a United States Navy officer and aviator, test pilot, aeronautical engineer, ufologist, and NASA astronaut. As the Lunar Module Pilot of Apollo 14 in 1971 he spent nine hours working on the lunar surface in the Fra Mauro Highlands region, and was the sixth person to walk on the Moon. He was the second Freemason to set foot on the Moon, after Buzz Aldrin.

Before becoming an astronaut, Mitchell earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Management from Carnegie Institute of Technology and entered the United States Navy in 1952. After being commissioned through the Officer Candidate School at Newport, Rhode Island, he served as a Naval Aviator. In 1961, he received his second bachelor's degree, in aeronautical engineering, from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School and three years later earned his doctorate in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). From 1965 to 1966, he attended the U.S. Air Force Aerospace Research Pilot School and graduated first in his class. During this period, he served as an instructor in advanced mathematics and navigation theory for astronaut candidates.

The legacy of his post-NASA scientific and parapsychology work is carried on through the Institute of Noetic Sciences.^[1]

Mitchell's doctoral thesis on space vehicle guidance on display at the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame

Mitchell was born on September 17, 1930, in Hereford, Texas, to Joseph Thomas Mitchell (1910–1967) and Ollidean Margaret Mitchell (née Arnold; 1911–1977).^[2] He had three siblings: Joyce Alyene, who died in her infancy in 1933, Sandra Jo (1934–1988) and Jay Neely "Coach" (1937–2013), who was a member of the inaugural graduating class of the United States Air Force Academy in 1959, and a pilot with the United States Air Force (USAF), achieving the rank of colonel. He came from a ranching family that moved to New Mexico during the Depression and considered Artesia, New Mexico (near Roswell)^[3] as his hometown. He first learned to fly at 13,^[4] receiving his private pilot license at 16, and was active in the Boy Scouts of America where he achieved its second highest rank, Life Scout.^[5] He was also a member of DeMolay International, part of the Masonic Fraternity, and was inducted into its Hall of Fame. Mitchell was a member of Artesia Lodge #29 in New Mexico.^[6] He enjoyed handball, tennis, and swimming, and his hobbies included scuba diving and soaring.

He graduated from Artesia High School in 1948. Mitchell received a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial management from the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) in 1952, where he was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity.^[7] That same year, he entered the United States Navy and completed basic training at San Diego Recruit Depot.^[8] While on active duty in the Navy, he earned a second bachelor's degree, in aeronautical engineering, from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in 1961 and an Doctor of Science degree in aeronautics and astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1964.^[9][7]

He was married to Louise Randall from 1951 to 1972. Following their divorce, he married Anita Rettig in 1973. The couple divorced in 1984 when he began an affair with former Playboy model Sheilah Ledbetter. He was father to two children with Randall, adopted Rettig's three children, and later was father to another child, this time with Ledbetter. Rettig served as chair of the Palm Beach County Republican Party, while Kimberly Mitchell (the eldest daughter from his union with Rettig) was a city commissioner in West Palm Beach, Florida.^[10] Ledbetter and Mitchell married in 1989 and divorced in 1999.^[10][11] He was survived by five children, nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild.