Project Apollo was a NASA spaceflight program dedicated to the goal of “landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth” proposed by President John F. Kennedy on May 25, 1961 during an address to the joint session of Congress. From 1969 to 1972, six Apollo missions made successful Moon landings, and twelve men walked on the Moon.
The final mission of the Apollo program, Apollo 17, launched on December 7, 1972 for a 12 day journey to the Moon and back. It was the last time humans traveled beyond 1,240 miles (2,000km) from Earth, landed on the Moon, and walked its surface. During a three day stay on the Moon, Apollo 17 astronauts, Eugene A. Cernan (mission commander), and Harrison H. Schmitt (lunar modular pilot) made three walks (totaling 22 hours, 2 minutes) while Ronald E. Evans (command module pilot) remained in lunar orbit in the command service module.
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’. — Eugene A. Cernan, Apollo 17 mission commander
Man has been fascinated with the Moon for thousands of years, and moon gazing is an aesthetic custom with a spiritual component.
The international Cassini mission has resulted in dramatic photos and new discoveries during an amazing 20-year exploratory journey to Saturn.
The short documentary “Overview” (from Planetary Collective) explores a cosmic worldview with reflections from “Earth gazing” astronauts and philosophers as well as beautiful space imagery. Watch it, and be inspired by the “unity and oneness of all life on Earth”.
The feature photo of Apollo 17 mission commander, Eugene A. Cernan, was taken by astronaut/lunar module pilot, Harrison H. Schmitt, on December 13, 1972 (NASA, Public Domain). Cernan is the last human to have walked on the Moon.
Information/References:
Apollo Space Suit in 3D – View every detail (close-up/inside & out) of the space suit that made walking on the moon possible (Smithsonian Digitized 3D)
Spaceflight NASA: The Apollo 17 Mission
NASA’s Return to the Moon. On November 29, 2018, NASA announced plans are underway to send humans back to the surface of the moon and on to Mars.
Continuing through 2019, a new, state-of the art traveling exhibition, Destination Moon: The Apollo Mission, commemorates the first lunar landing in 1969 with tour stops in Houston (October 14, 2017–March 18, 2018), Saint Louis (April 14–September 3, 2018), Pittsburgh (September 29, 2018–February 18, 2019), and Seattle (March 16–Sept. 2, 2019) before returning to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC for permanent display. [Photo of Apollo 11 launch on July 16, 1969, from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center, at 9:32am ED]
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