Apollo 17
- Schmitt, a geologist, was the first (and to date, only) scientist to walk on the Moon.
- Like the astronauts of Apollos 10, 12, 13, and 14 before them, the Apollo 17 crew were recovered in Pacific waters near American Samoa after splashdown, and were flown from the recovery ship to the airport at Tafuna where they were greeted with an enthusiastic (and well practiced) Samoan reception before being flown on to Honolulu, thence to Houston.
- The plaque left on the ladder of the descent stage of Challenger read: Here Man completed his first explorations of the moon. December 1972 AD. May the spirit of peace in which we came be reflected in the lives of all mankind. The plaque showed two hemispheres of Earth and the near side of the Moon, plus the signatures of Cernan, Evans, Schmitt, and President Nixon.
- Commander Eugene Cernan took a Czechoslovak flag with him to the Moon because his ancestors came from Czechoslovakia. Later he gave it to the Institute of astronomy in Ondrejov (Czech republic).
- Schmitt was originally due to fly on the cancelled Apollo 18 but following pressure from the science community was moved up to LM pilot on Apollo 17 in place of Joe Engle.
- Apollo 17 broke several records set by previous flights, including longest manned lunar landing flight; longest total lunar surface extravehicular activities; largest lunar sample return, and longest time in lunar orbit.
- Apollo 17 was the last manned NASA mission to land on the moon in the 20th century. The next crewed NASA mission to land on the Moon is very tentatively scheduled to occur in 2019 with Orion 15 mission.
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Quotes
"Ah! You see one Earth, you've seen them all."
- – Jack Schmitt, Lunar Module Pilot.
"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 Commander. Last man to walk on the moon, December 14, 1972.
"Okay, Jack. Let's get this mother outta here."
- – Eugene A. Cernan, Apollo 17 Commander. Apocryphal last 'informal' words said on the lunar surface, one second before lunar liftoff (does not appear in voice transcripts.)
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Mission insignia
The circular patch is one of the most detailed of the Apollo series. The official NASA press release said: "The insignia is dominated by the image of Apollo, the Greek sun god. Suspended in space behind the head of Apollo is an American eagle of contemporary design, the red bars of the eagle's wing represent the bars in the U.S. flag; the three white stars symbolize the three astronaut crewmen. The background is deep blue space and within it are the Moon, the planet Saturn and a spiral galaxy or nebula. The Moon is partially overlaid by the eagle's wing suggesting that this is a celestial body that man has visited and in that sense conquered. The thrust of the eagle and the gaze of Apollo to the right and toward Saturn and the galaxy is meant to imply that man's goals in space will someday include the planets and perhaps the stars. The colors of the emblem are red, white and blue, the colors of the U.S. flag; with the addition of gold, to symbolize the golden age of space flight that will begin with this Apollo 17 lunar landing. The Apollo image used in this emblem was the Apollo of Belvedere sculpture now in the Vatican Gallery in Rome. This emblem was designed by artist Robert T. McCall in collaboration with the astronauts." The insignia is surrounded by a light gray band with names of the crew and the words APOLLO XVII.
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Capsule locations
The Command Module America is currently on display at Space Center Houston in Houston, Texas.
The Lunar Module Challenger impacted the Moon 15 December 1972 at 06:50:20.8 UT (1:50 AM EST) 19.96 N, 30.50 E.
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Media
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Depiction in fiction
Portions of the Apollo 17 mission are dramatized in the miniseries From the Earth to the Moon episode entitled "Le Voyage dans la Lune".
Additionally, there have been fictional astronauts in film, literature and television who have been described as "the last man to walk on the moon," implying they were crew members on Apollo 17. One such character was Steve Austin in the television series The Six Million Dollar Man; in a latter episode of the series, Austin's character was asked what space mission he flew on, and he answered, "Apollo 17" (the series first appeared on television in 1973 as a made-for-TV movie, however the novel upon which it was based — Cyborg — was published before the mission and does not make such a reference). Another example is the character of Captain Tanner in the science fiction film Deep Impact.
The mission patch for Apollo 17 was used for the mission patch for the NASA space ship Charybdis in an episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" entitled "The Royale".
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See also
- Extra-vehicular activity
- List of spacewalks
- Splashdown
- List of artificial objects on the Moon
- Google Moon
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Notes
- ^ Richard W. Orloff. Apollo by the Numbers: A Statistical Reference (SP-4029). NASA.
- ^ The next planned human lunar landing – Orion 15, planned for 2019 and no later than 2020 – will probably also be undertaken by NASA. There is a small chance, however, that another agency, such as the Chinese national space administration, may undertake an earlier human lunar landing.
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References
- NASA NSSDC Master Catalog
- Apollo 17 Info by NASA
- APOLLO BY THE NUMBERS: A Statistical Reference by Richard W. Orloff (NASA)
- Development of Manned Space Flight, American and Soviet NASA SP-4209
- The Apollo Spacecraft: A Chronology
- Apollo Program Summary Report
- Apollo 17 Characteristics - SP-4012 NASA HISTORICAL DATA BOOK
- Apollo 17 entry at Apollo Lunar Surface Journal - Provides an extensive insight of the mission, along with full transcripts and detailed interviews with the crewmembers.
- Lattimer, Dick (1985). 'All We Did was Fly to the Moon. Whispering Eagle Press. ISBN 0-9611228-0-3.
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External links
- Apollo 17 entry in Encyclopedia Astronautica
- September 1973 National Geographic Magazine article
- Apollo simulation for Orbiter spaceflight sim
- Apollo 17 - Final Reflections on Apollo Video as the crew wraps up the final Apollo mission
- Apollo landing Locations at Google Moon
- transcript of lifting off from the Moon
- Apollo Lunar Surface VR Panoramas QTVR panoramas
- Apollo 17 Voice Transcript Pertaining to the Geology of the Landing Site
- Apollo 17 Science Experiments
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