NASA Administrator Remembers Apollo-Era Astronaut Edgar Mitchell

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Feb 05, 2016, 05:29 ET

WASHINGTON, Feb. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is a statement from NASA Administrator Charles Bolden on the passing of NASA astronaut Edgar Mitchell:

"On behalf of the entire NASA family, I would like to express my condolences to the family and friends of NASA astronaut Edgar Mitchell. As a member of the Apollo 14 crew, Edgar is one of only 12 men to walk on the moon and he helped to change how we view our place in the universe.

"Edgar spoke poetically about seeing our home planet from the moon saying: 'Suddenly, from behind the rim of the moon, in long, slow-motion moments of immense majesty, there emerges a sparkling blue and white jewel, a light, delicate sky-blue sphere laced with slowly swirling veils of white, rising gradually like a small pearl in a thick sea of black mystery. It takes more than a moment to fully realize this is Earth … home.'

"He believed in exploration, having been drawn to NASA by President Kennedy's call to send humans to the moon. He is one of the pioneers in space exploration on whose shoulders we now stand."

For more information about Mitchell's NASA career, and his agency biography, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/feature/apollo-astronaut-edgar-mitchell-dies-at-age-85

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SOURCE NASA