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47 Years Ago Today; Apollo 17's Cernan and Schmitt are last humans to walk on moon (to date)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_17
Eugene Cernan aboard the Lunar Roving Vehicle during the first EVA of Apollo 17
Apollo 17 (December 7–19, 1972) was the final mission of NASA's Apollo program; it remains the most recent time humans have travelled beyond low Earth orbit. Its crew consisted of Commander Eugene Cernan, Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt, and Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans, and it carried a biological experiment containing five mice.
Launched at 12:33 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on December 7, 1972, Apollo 17 was a "J-type mission" that included three days on the lunar surface, extended scientific capability, and the use of the third Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV).
Cernan and Schmitt landed in the Taurus–Littrow valley and completed three moonwalks, taking lunar samples and deploying scientific instruments. The landing site had been chosen to further the mission's main goals: to sample lunar highland material older than Mare Imbrium, and to investigate the possibility of relatively recent volcanic activity. Evans remained in lunar orbit in the command and service module (CSM), taking scientific measurements and photographs.
Cernan, Evans, Schmitt, and the mice returned to Earth on December 19.
Apollo 17 was the first mission to have no one on board who had been a test pilot; X-15 test pilot Joe Engle lost the lunar module pilot assignment to Schmitt, a geologist. The mission included the first night launch of a U.S. human spaceflight and the final crewed launch of a Saturn V rocket. It was also the final use of Apollo hardware for its original purpose (extra Apollo spacecraft were later used in the Skylab and Apollo–Soyuz programs).
The mission broke several crewed spaceflight records: the longest Moon landing, longest total extravehicular activities (moonwalks), largest lunar sample, longest time in lunar orbit, and, at 75, most lunar orbits.
<snip>
Lunar surface
Eugene Cernan on the lunar surface, December 13, 1972
Over three moonwalks (EVAs), Cernan and Schmitt deployed the LRV, the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) and seismic explosive charges. They parked the LRV at nine planned geological survey stations to collect samples and make observations. Additionally, twelve short sampling stops were made at Schmitt's discretion while riding the LRV, during which the astronauts rapidly collected lunar material without dismounting.
The first lunar excursion began four hours after landing, at 6:54 p.m. EST on December 11. The first task was to offload the rover and other equipment from the LM. While working near the rover, Cernan caught his hammer under the right-rear fender extension, accidentally breaking it off. A similar incident occurred on Apollo 16 as John Young maneuvered around the rover. Although this was not a mission-critical issue, the loss of the part caused Cernan and Schmitt to be covered with dust thrown up when the rover was in motion. The crew attempted a short-lived fix using duct tape, attaching a map to the damaged fender. However lunar dust stuck to the tape's surface, preventing it from adhering properly. The crew deployed the ALSEP just west of the landing site. This task done, they departed for the first geological survey station: Steno crater to the south of the landing site. The astronauts gathered 14 kilograms (31 lb) of samples, took seven gravimeter measurements, and deployed two explosive packages. The latter were detonated remotely to test geophones placed by the astronauts, and also seismometers left during previous missions. The EVA ended after seven hours and twelve minutes.
Astronauts Cernan and Schmitt singing "I Was Strolling on the Moon One Day" to the words and tune of "While Strolling Through the Park One Day"
On December 12, awakened by "Ride of the Valkyries", Cernan and Schmitt began their second lunar excursion. First, the rover's fender needed a better fix. Overnight, the flight controllers devised a procedure communicated by John Young: taping four cronopaque maps together and clamping the "replacement fender extension" onto the fender. The astronauts carried out the new fix which did its job, lasting the remainder of the exploration. Cernan and Schmitt then departed for station 2—Nansen Crater, at the foot of the South Massif. Upon arrival, Cernan reported their range as 7.6 km (4.7 mi, 25,029 ft[33]) away from the lunar module; it was the furthest distance traveled away from a spacecraft during the Apollo program. The astronauts were at the extremity of their "walkback limit", a safety constraint meant to ensure that they could walk back to the LM if for whatever reason the rover failed. They began a return trip, traveling northeast. Stopping at station 4—Shorty crater—the astronauts discovered orange soil, which proved to be very small beads of volcanic glass formed over 3.5 billion years ago. The final stop before returning to the LM was Camelot crater; throughout the sojourn, the astronauts collected 34 kilograms (75 lb) of samples, took another seven gravimeter measurements, and deployed three more explosive packages. Concluding the EVA at seven hours and thirty-seven minutes, Cernan and Schmitt had completed the longest-duration EVA in history to-date, traveling further away from a spacecraft and covering more ground on a planetary body during a single EVA than any other spacefarers. Once the LM was repressurized, CAPCOM Bob Parker was particularly impressed, saying: "Absolutely outstanding. I can't say more than that. And I mean it from the bottom of my heart or the bottom of my soul or something, my conscience."
The third moonwalk, the last of the Apollo program, began at 5:25 pm EST on December 13. Cernan and Schmitt rode the rover northeast of the landing site, exploring the base of the North Massif and the Sculptured Hills. Stopping at station 6, they examined a house-sized split boulder dubbed Tracy's Rock (or Split Rock), after Cernan's daughter. The ninth and final planned station was conducted at Van Serg crater. The crew collected 66 kilograms (146 lb) of lunar samples and took another nine gravimeter measurements. Before concluding the moonwalk, the crew collected a breccia rock, dedicating it to the nations of Earth, several of which were represented in Mission Control Center in Houston, Texas, at the time. A plaque located on the LM, commemorating the achievements made during the Apollo program, was then unveiled. Before reentering the LM for the final time, Gene Cernan expressed his thoughts:
Cernan then followed Schmitt into the LM; the final lunar excursion had a duration of seven hours and fifteen minutes.
</snip>
Eugene Cernan aboard the Lunar Roving Vehicle during the first EVA of Apollo 17
Apollo 17 (December 7–19, 1972) was the final mission of NASA's Apollo program; it remains the most recent time humans have travelled beyond low Earth orbit. Its crew consisted of Commander Eugene Cernan, Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt, and Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans, and it carried a biological experiment containing five mice.
Launched at 12:33 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on December 7, 1972, Apollo 17 was a "J-type mission" that included three days on the lunar surface, extended scientific capability, and the use of the third Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV).
Cernan and Schmitt landed in the Taurus–Littrow valley and completed three moonwalks, taking lunar samples and deploying scientific instruments. The landing site had been chosen to further the mission's main goals: to sample lunar highland material older than Mare Imbrium, and to investigate the possibility of relatively recent volcanic activity. Evans remained in lunar orbit in the command and service module (CSM), taking scientific measurements and photographs.
Cernan, Evans, Schmitt, and the mice returned to Earth on December 19.
Apollo 17 was the first mission to have no one on board who had been a test pilot; X-15 test pilot Joe Engle lost the lunar module pilot assignment to Schmitt, a geologist. The mission included the first night launch of a U.S. human spaceflight and the final crewed launch of a Saturn V rocket. It was also the final use of Apollo hardware for its original purpose (extra Apollo spacecraft were later used in the Skylab and Apollo–Soyuz programs).
The mission broke several crewed spaceflight records: the longest Moon landing, longest total extravehicular activities (moonwalks), largest lunar sample, longest time in lunar orbit, and, at 75, most lunar orbits.
<snip>
Lunar surface
Eugene Cernan on the lunar surface, December 13, 1972
Over three moonwalks (EVAs), Cernan and Schmitt deployed the LRV, the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) and seismic explosive charges. They parked the LRV at nine planned geological survey stations to collect samples and make observations. Additionally, twelve short sampling stops were made at Schmitt's discretion while riding the LRV, during which the astronauts rapidly collected lunar material without dismounting.
The first lunar excursion began four hours after landing, at 6:54 p.m. EST on December 11. The first task was to offload the rover and other equipment from the LM. While working near the rover, Cernan caught his hammer under the right-rear fender extension, accidentally breaking it off. A similar incident occurred on Apollo 16 as John Young maneuvered around the rover. Although this was not a mission-critical issue, the loss of the part caused Cernan and Schmitt to be covered with dust thrown up when the rover was in motion. The crew attempted a short-lived fix using duct tape, attaching a map to the damaged fender. However lunar dust stuck to the tape's surface, preventing it from adhering properly. The crew deployed the ALSEP just west of the landing site. This task done, they departed for the first geological survey station: Steno crater to the south of the landing site. The astronauts gathered 14 kilograms (31 lb) of samples, took seven gravimeter measurements, and deployed two explosive packages. The latter were detonated remotely to test geophones placed by the astronauts, and also seismometers left during previous missions. The EVA ended after seven hours and twelve minutes.
Astronauts Cernan and Schmitt singing "I Was Strolling on the Moon One Day" to the words and tune of "While Strolling Through the Park One Day"
On December 12, awakened by "Ride of the Valkyries", Cernan and Schmitt began their second lunar excursion. First, the rover's fender needed a better fix. Overnight, the flight controllers devised a procedure communicated by John Young: taping four cronopaque maps together and clamping the "replacement fender extension" onto the fender. The astronauts carried out the new fix which did its job, lasting the remainder of the exploration. Cernan and Schmitt then departed for station 2—Nansen Crater, at the foot of the South Massif. Upon arrival, Cernan reported their range as 7.6 km (4.7 mi, 25,029 ft[33]) away from the lunar module; it was the furthest distance traveled away from a spacecraft during the Apollo program. The astronauts were at the extremity of their "walkback limit", a safety constraint meant to ensure that they could walk back to the LM if for whatever reason the rover failed. They began a return trip, traveling northeast. Stopping at station 4—Shorty crater—the astronauts discovered orange soil, which proved to be very small beads of volcanic glass formed over 3.5 billion years ago. The final stop before returning to the LM was Camelot crater; throughout the sojourn, the astronauts collected 34 kilograms (75 lb) of samples, took another seven gravimeter measurements, and deployed three more explosive packages. Concluding the EVA at seven hours and thirty-seven minutes, Cernan and Schmitt had completed the longest-duration EVA in history to-date, traveling further away from a spacecraft and covering more ground on a planetary body during a single EVA than any other spacefarers. Once the LM was repressurized, CAPCOM Bob Parker was particularly impressed, saying: "Absolutely outstanding. I can't say more than that. And I mean it from the bottom of my heart or the bottom of my soul or something, my conscience."
The third moonwalk, the last of the Apollo program, began at 5:25 pm EST on December 13. Cernan and Schmitt rode the rover northeast of the landing site, exploring the base of the North Massif and the Sculptured Hills. Stopping at station 6, they examined a house-sized split boulder dubbed Tracy's Rock (or Split Rock), after Cernan's daughter. The ninth and final planned station was conducted at Van Serg crater. The crew collected 66 kilograms (146 lb) of lunar samples and took another nine gravimeter measurements. Before concluding the moonwalk, the crew collected a breccia rock, dedicating it to the nations of Earth, several of which were represented in Mission Control Center in Houston, Texas, at the time. A plaque located on the LM, commemorating the achievements made during the Apollo program, was then unveiled. Before reentering the LM for the final time, Gene Cernan expressed his thoughts:
... I'm on the surface; and, as I take man's last step from the surface, back home for some time to come - but we believe not too long into the future - I'd like to just [say] what I believe history will record. That America's challenge of today has forged man's destiny of tomorrow. And, as we leave the Moon at Taurus-Littrow, we leave as we came and, God willing, as we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind. "Godspeed the crew of Apollo 17."
Cernan then followed Schmitt into the LM; the final lunar excursion had a duration of seven hours and fifteen minutes.
</snip>
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