This article will dig into the historic Apollo 17 mission to the Moon. This NASA mission took Eugene Andrew Cernan and Harrison Hagan “Jack” Schmitt to the lunar surface and marked the end of the Apollo program.
By the time Apollo 17 launched on December 7, 1972, public excitement in space exploration had weakened, and the government had turned the focus to the Vietnam War.
Those and numerous other factors led the Apollo program to a close, even though three more other flights were from the start initially planned.
The Last Astronauts on The Moon
Apollo 17 Moon mission was the first to incorporate a scientist in its crew. That astronaut was geologist Harrison “Jack” Schmitt.
He was one of the original six scientist-astronauts selected in 1965 under enormous pressure from the National Academy of Sciences, which bothered that only test pilots would get to walk on the Moon.
The mission spent the most time working on the Moon.
“In addition, several records were broken on the Moon. The Apollo 17 LM and crew logged the most extended stay on the Moon at 74 hours, 59 minutes, and 38 seconds.
The Apollo 17 Command Service Module (CSM) completed the most lunar orbits at 75, setting a record manned lunar orbit stay of 147 hours and 48 minutes.
Astronauts Cernan and Schmitt performed the most extended lunar surface excursion at 7 hours, 37 minutes, and 22 seconds.
They also logged the longest total excursion time on the Moon at 22 hours, 5 minutes, and 4 seconds.
The last Apollo LRV completed the most extended single LRV trip at 11.8 miles.
The Apollo 17 LRV also logged the most distance driven on the lunar surface at 21.75 miles.”
Picking the final crew
When it came time to choose the final crew, Jack was selected from Joe Engle. He was the backup pilot for the Apollo 14 mission and would have been the next astronaut in the rotation to fly under normal conditions.
So, the routine procedure was for an astronaut to back up a mission and then operate as a prime astronaut on the third mission after his backup.
Crewmates Eugene Cernan and Ron Evans were upset for Joe Engle. Nevertheless, they were pleased with Jack Schmitt’s capabilities, a geologic trainer for other Apollo moon-bound astronauts showed on the job.
Ronald E. Evans, the command module pilot, was on his first Apollo mission to space.
He was on combat service in the Vietnam War in April 1966 when he discovered he was selected as an Apollo astronaut. Ronald had not just flown in combat, but he was also a combat pilot instructor.
Cernan Had Encountered Many Obstacles in Space
Mission Commander Eugene Andrew Cernan, a previous U.S. Navy pilot, had encountered many obstacles in space.
On his maiden flight, with Gemini 9 in 1966, Andrew did a spacewalk that depleted him because there weren’t sufficient handholds to perform his work in microgravity.
On his next flight, with Apollo 10i in 1969, the LM or the lunar module abruptly spun unpredictably as Eugene Cernan and his crewmate astronaut Tom Stafford made a practice descent to the surface.
He was an experienced pilot and felt equipped to command his crew on the most challenging Apollo mission yet.
Credits: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University.
Assessing the landing site
With the following Apollo Moon missions so focused on science and a geologist onboard for Apollo 17, much thought went into deciding the lunar valley called Taurus-Littrow as Apollo 17’s target.
The geologic diversity of that lunar valley swayed the decision to that location.
Points of interest to scientists in Taurus-Littrow introduced Shorty Crater to hold confirmation of past volcanic vents and various large boulders spotted in photographs taken by the Apollo 15 mission crew.
Due to a tank, a trivial technical fault, not being pressurized when it was expected held up the launch by almost 3 hours.
But once the glitch was fixed, the Apollo crew took off on December 7, 1972. Eugene Andrew Cernan and Harrison Hagan “Jack” Schmitt arrived on the Moon’s surface on the lunar module Challenger three days later without significant incident.
At the same time, Evans stayed in the command module, America.
Moondust showered the astronauts
Eugene and Schmitt encountered their initial substantial hurdle when Eugene inadvertently damaged a wheel fender on their lunar rover.
Subsequently, they found themselves engulfed in a spray of moon dust while navigating the lunar terrain.
With a touch of humor, Eugene managed a makeshift repair using duct tape, jestingly suggesting he deserved a ‘repair award.’
The subsequent day, Cernan and Harrison ingeniously used maps to replace the damaged fender, effectively resolving the issue.
The duo of astronauts set up an array of scientific tools, the most significant of which was a traverse gravimeter.
These experimental instruments were later transported via the rover and utilized at various locations to measure relative gravity. These measurements provided Earth-based scientists with valuable insights into the underlying structure of the lunar surface.
If you want to learn more exciting facts about our Moon, especially the Tycho crater, head to mooncratertycho.
Orange Moon soil
As Eugene and Jack worked near Shorty Crater’s rim the next day, Jack shouted that he could see orange lunar soil.
In Eugene’s autobiography, he said he worried Jack “has been up here too long and has overdosed on rocks.”
But when Eugene climbed to peek, he saw the orange lunar soil.
Examining samples of that Moon soil taken back to Earth revealed that the Moonrocks were tiny spheres of colored glass. These presumably came from a volcanic vent.
And, after one more day of chasing the clock to do all the science Cernan and Jack could, the lunar astronauts packed their gear and planned to climb into Challenger for the last time.
Ronald E. Evans, Command Module Pilot, also got a chance to do a spacewalk on their way back to the Earth, retrieving some film canisters attached outside America.
The Apollo 17 astronauts splashed down on December 19 in the South Pacific Ocean.
The crew spent a record twenty-two hours conducting extravehicular activities on the lunar surface.
Legacy
December 2022 marks the half-century anniversary of the iconic Apollo 17 Moon Mission. As part of the mission, the upper stage of the lunar module, Challenger, was intentionally crashed into the lunar surface. Meanwhile, the command module, America, found a permanent home at Space Center Houston, neighboring NASA’s Johnson Space Center.
Despite the Apollo 17 astronauts being the most recent humans to set foot on the Moon, NASA has ambitious plans to orchestrate more lunar missions in the upcoming decade. Prior to this, however, NASA intends to launch its cutting-edge lunar spacecraft, Orion, on an uncrewed trip around the Moon. Furthermore, NASA has conceptualized the establishment of a moon-orbiting space station in its future blueprints.
Apollo 17 Lunar Module Challenger
The video above shows a television camera capturing the lift-off of the Apollo 17 Lunar Module ascent stage mounted on the lunar rover. The crew parked about 145 meters east of the spacecraft.
Crew
- Eugene A. Cernan, Commander
- Harrison H. Schmitt, Lunar Module Pilot
- Ronald E. Evans, Command Module Pilot
Backup Crew
- John W. Young, Commander
- Charles M. Duke Jr., Lunar Module Pilot
- Stuart A. Roosa, Command Module Pilot
Payload
- America (CM-114)
- Challenger (LM-12)
Prelaunch Milestones
- 12/21/70 – S-IVB on-dock at Kennedy
- 5/11/72 – S-IC on-dock at Kennedy
- 6/20/72 – S-IU on-dock at Kennedy
- 10/27/72 – S-II on-dock at Kennedy
The Launch
- On December 7, 1972, 12:33 a.m. EST
- LaunchPad 39A
- Saturn-V SA-512
- High Bay 3
- Mobile Launcher Platform-3
- Firing Room 1
Eleven minutes and fifty-three seconds post-launch, the Command and Service Module (CSM), Lunar Module (LM), and the S-IVB booster stage were successfully placed into an Earth orbit measuring 91.2 by 92.5 nautical miles. Following two complete revolutions, Apollo 17 embarked on the translunar coast at precisely 8:45:37 a.m. GMT.
Orbit
- Altitude: 105.86 miles
- Inclination: 28.526 degrees
- Orbits: 75 revolutions
- Duration: 12 days, 13 hours, 52 minutes
- Surface Time: 75 hours
- Distance: 1,484,933.8 miles
- Lunar Location: Taurus-Littrow
- Lunar Coordinates: 20.16 degrees north and 30.77 degrees east
Landing
- December. 19, 1972
- Pacific Ocean
- Recovery Ship: USS Ticonderoga
We trust you found this retrospective on the remarkable event from over half a century ago engaging and informative.
The book ‘How We Got to the Moon will reveal a stunning look at the Apollo 11 Mission to the Moon.
If you’re interested in learning more about the Apollo moon missions, feel free to check out our detailed article on which Apollo missions landed on the moon.”