Apollo 17 Gallery

Eugene Cernan on Moon Apollo 17

The last man on the Moon. Astronaut Eugene Cernan stands on the Moon during the Apollo 17 mission. At right is part of the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV), with its communications antenna. Apollo 17 arrived on the Moon in the Taurus-Littrow site at the southern edge of the Mare Serenitatis on 11 December 1972. Cernan and fellow astronaut Harrison Schmitt spent 72 hours on the Moon, performing three excursions in the LRV. This was the last Apollo Moon mission, and Cernan was the last human to stand on the surface of the Moon. Astronaut Ronald Evans remained in the orbiting Command Module. The astronauts returned safely to Earth on 19 December 1972

© NASA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

View of the Apollo 17 Command and Service Modules in lunar orbit

December 14, 1972 - View of the Apollo 17 Command and Service Modules (CSM) photographed from the Lunar Module (LM) Challenger during rendezvous and docking maneuvers in lunar orbit. Note the exposed Scientific Instrument Module (SIM) Bay in Sector 1 of the Service Module (SM). Three experiments are carried in the SIM bay: S-209 lunar sounder, S-171 infrared scanning spectrometer, and the S-169 far-ultraviolet spectrometer. Also mounted in the SIM bay are the panoramic camera, mapping camera and laser altimeter used in service module photographic tasks. A portion of the LM is on the right

© Stocktrek Images

Astronaut and Lunar Rover, Apollo 17

Astronaut and Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV), composite image. US astronaut and geologist Dr Harrison Schmitt exploring the Taurus-Littrow region of the Moon, as part of NASA's Apollo 17 mission. The LRV (centre left) was an electric vehicle designed to operate in the low-gravity vacuum of the Moon. Behind, the Sculptured Hills (far left), the East Massif (centre) and Bear Mountain (far right), can be seen. Schmitt landed on the Moon on 11 December 1972, with mission commander Eugene Cernan. They spent 75 hours on the surface. Ron Evans remained in orbit in the command module. Dr Schmitt is the only scientist to have landed on the Moon. Apollo 17 was the last Apollo mission, and Schmitt and Cernan are the last people to have walked on the Moon

© NASA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY