posted 02-27-2016 01:08 PM               

Space Cover #357: Edgar Mitchell: A Tribute

Edgar Mitchell, the Apollo 14 Lunar Module Pilot, and the sixth man to walk on the moon, passed away on Feb. 4, 2016, at age 85. Sadly, all members of Apollo 14 are now gone.

Besides being the sixth man on the moon, Mitchell was a naval officer (Capt., Ret.), aviator, test pilot, aeronautical engineer and ufologist.

Covers for Mitchell's Apollo 14 flight are plentiful and easily found and two are shown here. Mitchell was a cooperative autograph provider and covers signed by him are not hard to find. But the two shown here are special, with the Apollo 14 Heritage Craft cover at the top also having an appropriate inscription added by Mitchell along with his autograph.

The bottom cover is one of several hundred Apollo 14 insurance covers and is autographed by Mitchell, Alan Shepard and Stuart Roosa. This cover was canceled for the Apollo 14 launch and, typically, like all Apollo insurance covers, was left with family members during the flight to serve as a type of "life insurance" in case the mission ended in disaster. After the crews returned safely home, over time the Apollo insurance covers were distributed and now rest in many collections all over the world.

posted 02-27-2016 03:55 PM               

Here is another insurance cover signed by the Apollo 14 crew on a NASA Manned Spacecraft Center Stamp Club cachet. This cover also is special. It is not very expensive and also worth looking for because it is the crew's moon landing date and cancelled in Houston, Texas, Mission Control for the Apollo moon landings.