Apollo 17 Launches Final Crewed Moon Mission

Context

By the early 1970s the Apollo program had completed five successful crewed lunar landings, yet congressional budget reductions and a shift in national priorities toward Earth-orbit activities made further Moon missions unlikely. NASA canceled the final planned flights, Apollo 18 and 19, leaving Apollo 17 as the program’s last opportunity to conduct extended scientific exploration on the lunar surface. Mission planners selected the Taurus-Littrow valley for its potential to yield both ancient highland material and evidence of relatively recent volcanic activity, while the crew rotation system brought forward experienced astronauts from earlier flights.

What Happened

On December 7, 1972, at 12:33 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, a Saturn V rocket carrying Commander Eugene Cernan, Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt, and Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center. The launch followed a short delay caused by a problem with the automatic sequencer and was the only nighttime liftoff of the entire Apollo program. The spacecraft entered lunar orbit four days later; Cernan and Schmitt descended in the Lunar Module Challenger and touched down in the Taurus-Littrow valley on December 11. Over the next three days the pair completed three moonwalks totaling more than twenty-two hours, drove the Lunar Roving Vehicle across 22 miles of terrain, deployed scientific instruments, and collected 115 kilograms of rock and soil samples, including distinctive orange material later identified as volcanic in origin. Evans remained in orbit aboard the Command Module America, conducting remote-sensing observations and photography.

Aftermath

The crew returned safely to Earth on December 19, 1972, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean where they were recovered by the USS Ticonderoga. Post-flight analysis confirmed that Apollo 17 had set multiple records for crewed lunar operations, including the longest surface stay and the largest sample return. The mission’s scientific payload and geologic findings provided new data on lunar volcanism and the Moon’s early history.

Legacy

Apollo 17 marked the end of human lunar landings for more than five decades, redirecting NASA resources toward the Skylab space station and later the Space Shuttle. The mission’s emphasis on professional geologic training and the resulting sample collection advanced understanding of lunar composition and processes. The striking “Blue Marble” photograph of Earth taken during the return voyage became an enduring symbol of planetary fragility and helped shape public environmental awareness.