Astronaut Edgar Mitchell, 6th man on moon, dies in Florida

Astronaut Edgar Mitchell, the sixth man to walk on the moon and one of the area’s most interesting characters, died yesterday at 10 p.m.in a West Palm Beach hospice.

Mitchell was aboard the Apollo 14 mission that went to the Moon in 1971, along with astronauts Alan Shepard and Stuart Roosa.

The Apollo 14 mission launched from Kennedy Space Center in 1971.

Buzz Aldrin, the second person on the Moon, echoed that on Twitter, calling Mitchell a “lunar pioneer”.

Roose died in 1994 and Shepard died in 1998. He became the 6th man to walk on the moon.

Apollo 14 crew achievements include becoming the first to use color TV on the lunar surface and log the longest lunar surface stay time at 33 hours. Mitchell was one of just 12 humans to touch the surface of the Moon.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden recalled Mitchell marveling at the stunning view of Earth from space.

Mitchell was born in Hereford, Texas, on September 17, 1930 but considered his hometown Artesia, N.M., near Roswell.

Astronaut Edgar Mitchell was 85 years old.

When he returned to Earth, he was awarded with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, USN Distinguished Service Medal, and the NASA Distinguished Service Medal.

His interest in the paranormal led him to found the Institute of Noetic Sciences in California.

Two daughters, three adopted sons and nine grandchildren are among family who survive him.