Earthrise: Exploring Space

Colorado has many connections to space exploration, from the local labs involved in the recent Mars expedition to more historic connections like being the home of astronaut Scott Carpenter.

Local author Ellen Mahoney has yet another connection. She co-authored a book with astronaut Edgar Mitchell, the 6^th man to walk on the moon as part of the Apollo 14 mission. Mahoney says the title of the book, Earthrise, refers to the unique experience that astronauts have when they see earth from space.

“Earthrise is a term that happened for a number of the Apollo astronauts, the ability to see the earth rise over the moon and it’s something that you need to be an astronaut to experience in space. Edgar found the ability to see earth from afar as very moving and it changed him as a person, it was a transformative experience. Seeing earth from thousands of miles away, Edgar said earth looked fragile, at the same time beautiful, it looked vulnerable and he had a sense of wanting to do something about it when he returned.”

On return to Earth in the spacecraft, Mitchell had a transcendent “Samadhi in space” that forever changed his life and was integral in his founding of the renowned Institute of Noetic Sciences.

Ellen Mahoney will be discussing the life of astronaut Edgar Mitchell, his work on the Apollo 14 program, and NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology), at the Chautauqua Community House in Boulder, with a multi-media presentation, on Wednesday January 10th at 7pm.

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