Looking Back at Apollo 17, Humanity's Final Moon Landing Mission

December 11 marked the anniversary of Apollo 17 achieving lunar landing, standing as the final human expedition to the moon so far. Following the success of Apollo 11 in 1969, six more missions followed, but funding cuts and shifted priorities caused NASA to cancel several planned flights, leaving Apollo 17 as the last manned lunar journey.

Mission Details

Launched at night on December 7, the 12-day mission reached lunar orbit on December 10, and commander Eugene Cernan alongside lunar module pilot Harrison Schmitt touched down on December 11. Schmitt became the first scientist and geologist to walk on the moon, after the scientific community lobbied for his inclusion following the cancellation of Apollo 18. Meanwhile, Ronald Evans orbited above in the command module named America.

Achievements And Samples

During 75 hours on the lunar surface, the longest stay to date, the astronauts logged 22 hours of spacewalks using a rover to travel roughly 36 kilometres. They retrieved 110 kilograms of soil and rock samples from 22 sites, including Troctolite 76535, the oldest known unshocked rock estimated to be at least 4.2 billion years old. Schmitt also discovered orange and black volcanic glass near Shorty crater, proving past explosive volcanism. Cernan took humankind's final step off the moon on December 14, and the capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on December 19.

Context

NASA's Artemis program aims to return humans to the lunar surface and establish a lasting presence, which could soon change the five-decade gap since human feet last touched the moon. Space agencies often balance high-cost crewed exploration goals against changing political priorities and budget constraints.