Clandestine science

Towards the end of the Apollo programme, crews were handed increasingly large programmes of scientific investigation to be carried out during the coast between the worlds, most of which Look place on the homeward leg. Some of this was a precursor to more extensive experimentation that would be carried out on Skylab. the space station that NASA was to launch after the Moon programme had been wound down.

Apollo 14’s heavy schedule of in-flight experiments included: demonstrations of electrophoresis, heal flow and convection in a weightless environment; how liquids behaved as they transferred between tanks; and a demonstration of the casting of composite materials in space. However, one of the experiments carried out on board Kitty Hawk was not to be found in the flight plan.

Some observers have noted how. across the six crews who went to the surface, there seemed to be a difference of personality between the guys who occupied the left station of the lunar module and the guys on the right. The commanders were all businesslike, supremely focused and driven and these traits tended to be carried on into their time after Apollo. The guys on the right, while equally as competent and capable, tended to lead more varied lives once the mission was over. It is unclear whether the astronaut selection process managed to tease apart two different types of
pilots from what was a very homo­geneous pool, or whether the experi­ence of the mission itself set the course of their future lives. The left – hand crewmen were all mission commanders, and after Apollo they generally went into business, management or similar professions.

Among the right-hand crewmen,

Schmitt, who was already a scientist, became a politician; Irwin and Duke had a calling in Christianity; Bean took up a career as an artist; and Buzz Aldrin struggled with depres­sion and alcoholism in the years directly after Apollo, then became an excellent ambassador for Apollo through his many TV appearances and public lectures.

The one remaining LMP in this list, Ed Mitchell, later professed a deep interest in states of being that were outside the physical – con­sciousness, spirituality and the para­normal. On the way home from the Moon, he experienced a "grand epiphany” that he later described as "nothing short of an overwhelming sense of universal connectedness”.

During the weeks leading up to the launch, Mitchell arranged a clandestine experiment with a few like-minded friends whereby they would test the ability of ‘psychic forces’ to operate over long distances. On four occasions, twice during each leg of the journey, he concentrated on a sequence of Zener cards[5] while his crewmates were settling down to sleep. The participants on Earth had to determine the sequence. The press had a field day with the story when it was revealed a week after their return. Perhaps they sniffed a chink in NASA’s reputation for having a scientific or engineering-driven approach to everything. However, Mitchell believes his study produced statistically significant results. After his flight, he founded the Institute of Noetic Sciences to continue research into the scientific investigation of the paranormal.