NOVA; Interview with Edgar Dean "Ed" Mitchell, NASA astronaut who was Lunar Module pilot on Apollo 14, part 3 of 3 : To the Moon
Description:
Edgar Dean "Ed" Mitchell, US Navy Officer, aeronautical engineer, and NASA astronaut who was Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 14 is interviewed about Apollo 14. Mitchell explains the mission's difficulties in achieving their objectives because of the heaviness of the Lunar Mobile Equipment Transport (LMET), and explains the bet between Apollo 14 and the backup crew. On returning from the moon, Mitchell ruminated on his relationship to the moon through his body's atoms, and thought about how humanity needed a new story about themselves (outside of religion and ancient history) that was adequate for the scientific age, both of which resulted in Mitchell's understanding of the unity of things and a feeling of ecstasy. These thoughts and realizations led him to attempt experiments while returning to Earth, and led him to his post-NASA work on consciousness and the paranormal. Mitchell believes that we should return to the moon, since going to the moon made humanity think about themselves from a different perspective. The interview ends with an audio-only interview with Mitchell, in which he mentions how abort options for Apollo 14 were manual-only, and explains how the Apollo 14 navigated above the lunar surface. This remarkably crafted program covers the full range of participants in the Apollo project, from the scientists and engineers who promoted bold ideas about the nature of the Moon and how to get there, to the young geologists who chose the landing sites and helped train the crews, to the astronauts who actually went - not once or twice, but six times, each to a more demanding and interesting location on the Moon's surface. "To The Moon" includes unprecedented footage, rare interviews, and presents a magnificent overview of the history of man and the Moon. To the Moon aired as NOVA episode 2610 in 1999.