Last trip to the moon

Apollo 17 launched 50 years ago, marking the final mission in the storied human spaceflight program

December 09, 2022 in Space

Apollo 17 was the only night launch during the Apollo program. (Photo NASA)

L to R: Harrison Schmitt, Eugene Cernan and Ronald Evans with a lunar rover trainer and the massive Saturn V rocket in the background. (Photo NASA)

Earth as seen by the Apollo 17 crew as they traveled to the moon. Africa is almost entirely visible, as is the Arabian peninsula (top middle). (Photo NASA)

Gene Cernan, famously known as the “last man on the moon,” salutes the American flag. The Lunar Module “Challenger” is behind the flag. (Photo NASA)

NASA Chief Flight Director Gene Kranz (center) briefs his team during a launch delay that lasted 2 hours and 40 minutes. (Photo NASA)

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On Dec. 7, 1972, half-a-century ago, Apollo 17 launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the final mission of the Apollo program and the last time humans traveled to the moon. The crew consisted of Eugene A. Cernan, commander; Ronald E. Evans, command module pilot; and Harrison H. Schmitt, lunar module pilot. During the mission, Schmitt became the first scientist-astronaut to land on the moon.

Apollo 17 was the third mission to employ the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) – an engineering marvel designed and built by Boeing. The battery-powered vehicles gave astronauts the ability to do three times the amount of work done on the earlier voyages. During Apollo 17, the LRV traversed roughly 19 miles (30.5 kilometers).