Journalists & Investigators
Edgar Mitchell
1971–2016
Apollo 14 astronaut and sixth person to walk on the Moon. After a profound experience returning to Earth in 1971, he resigned from NASA to found the Institute of Noetic Sciences and became a public advocate for both consciousness research and UFO disclosure, saying he was "convinced enough of the reality of the ET presence" to state so publicly. Also served on the Science Advisory Board of Robert Bigelow's NIDS, documented in surviving 1996 correspondence between them.
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Connections (14)
Mitchell received his Wilson-memo notes
Source: Wilson-Davis memo (Eric Davis notes; surfaced 2019)
fellow figure in the psi/UFO "invisible college"
Source: Hynek & Vallee, The Edge of Reality (1975); 'invisible college'
served on its Science Advisory Board
Source: 1996 Bigelow-Mitchell correspondence
founded it in 1973
Source: Institute of Noetic Sciences history
featured
Source: Sleeping Dog documentary (2026)
the notes surfaced from his estate after his 2016 death
Source: EWD Notes / Wilson-Davis memo (Eric Davis, Oct 16 2002); press reports 2017-2019
1996 letters document his role on NIDS's advisory board
Source: NIDS records; George Knapp, Statement to Congress, House Oversight (HHRG-118-GO06), Jul 26 2023
the memo describing him was found in Mitchell's estate after his death
fellow witness at the 2013 Citizen Hearing on Disclosure
Source: 2013 Citizen Hearing on Disclosure (National Press Club)
fellow Apollo moonwalker with starkly contrasting public views on UFOs
Source: NASA mission records; astronaut public statements
allegedly relayed the account to Edgar Mitchell, who told Davis in 1999
Source: EWD Notes / Wilson-Davis memo (Eric Davis, Oct 16 2002)
journalist Annie Jacobsen alleges his institute was a CIA conduit for payments to Puharich during Geller's SRI evaluation
fellow astronaut making similar public ET claims
Source: NASA mission records; astronaut public statements
both drew similar public skepticism for late-career claims