During the momentous Apollo 14 mission by NASA in 1971, astronaut Edgar Mitchell carried out secret tests related to extrasensory perception (ESP). It was regarded as the only time a supernatural experiment was conducted in space by an astronaut.
Mitchell served as the lunar module pilot for Apollo 14, which is the third crewed mission to land on the Moon. As an avid supporter of and believer in psychic research, the astronaut took the opportunity to test if it would be possible to transmit his thoughts across space.
Conducting Psychic Tests In Space
According to Mitchell's interview with H Plus Magazine, he conducted the tests on the way to the Moon and when he and his fellow astronauts Stuart Roosa and Alan Shepard were returning to Earth. To keep the experiments a secret, he conducted them during the times when Roosa and Shepard were asleep.
For the experiment, Mitchell used a data grid that parapsychologists commonly used for psychic tests. It consisted of 6 columns with 25 spaces and 25 lines. He then drew symbols such as a star, circle, square and cross on each line randomly. After drawing each symbol, he concentrated on it for about fifteen seconds.
Reading Mitchell's Thoughts From Earth
Back on Earth, Mitchell's colleagues, who were medical scientists, were attempting to read Mitchell's mind even though he's in space. Using a similar data grid, his colleagues tried to write down the same symbols that Mitchell drew on the correct lines.
Interestingly, Mitchell's team on Earth were able to correctly guess 51 of the 200 drawings that the astronaut drew. Mitchell considered the experiment as a success especially since experts told him that the odds of achieving 100 percent on the experiment were 1 out of 13,000. Since the Apollo 14 mission, Mitchell became even more interested in psychic research, ESP and even wrote books regarding these subjects.
