Edgar Mitchell is one of only a handful of people who have walked on another world. Upon his return on Apollo 14 in 1971 after collecting samples from the moon, he had a mystical epiphany that would transform his life. As a result, he set up the Institute of Noetic Sciences in 1973 to investigate psychic and spiritual phenomena and the nature of human consciousness. This contrasts with the typical focus in museum exhibitions on the technological wonders of space travel, which do not address the larger spiritual and philosophical questions. Based on that limited perspective, space travel could be viewed as a pointless luxury; however, Mitchell would argue that it is a psychic necessity. Our very survival demands we see ourselves as more than our country of origin. We are all members of an advanced, evolving civilization who live on planet Earth.
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