Astronaut Edgar Mitchell, returning from his walk on the Moon, looked out upon a view of the Earth and stars. Just as you and I tend to reflect when we are immersed in nature, Mitchell began to meditate on whether we humans were intelligently designed by a creator. He was suddenly overcome by a feeling of connectedness with all life and the Universe itself. To help try to answer some of the "big questions" of our existence, Mitchell founded the Institute of Noetic Sciences in 1971, and its mission continues to this day.