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| Recent image of the Apollo 17 landing site. Did they leave the keys in the ignition of the LTV? |
LAST FOOTPRINTS—Apollo 17 was the last Apollo mission to land men on the moon. Looking back the span of missions from Apollo
11 to Apollo 17 lasted from July 1969 to December 1972, a mere whisper of time. Blast off from Kennedy Space Center launch
complex 39A was on December 7, 1972, the only night time launch of an Apollo
mission. See video link below.
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| Rare view of Antarctica from the Moon |
Lunar touchdown was
December 11, 1972. Landing site was Taurus-Littrow valley on the eastern edge
of Mare Serenitatis. There were two main
geology objectives for this site, according to the Lunar and Planetary
Institute. First, was to obtain samples of ancient rocks
from the lunar highlands and second, to seek evidence of younger volcanic
activity on the valley floor. The two
lunar explorers collected 741 individual rock and soil samples, including a
deep drill core that included material from three meters below the lunar
surface. The mission goals were met.
One of the Apollo 17 photography goals was to capture a view of Antarctica from the moon.
Crew consisted of Eugene
Cernan, commander; Ronald Evans, command module pilot (America); and Harrison
Schmidt, lunar module pilot (Challenger).
Apollo 17’s Harrison
Schmitt was the only trained geologist to walk on the lunar surface. Compared with previous Apollo missions,
number 17 astronauts traversed the greatest distance (30 kilometers )by
utilizing the four-wheeled moon buggy.
They also returned the largest amount of rock and soil samples (110
kilograms.)
Time on the lunar surface
was 75 hours with 22 hours being outside the lander.
Astronaut Eugene Cernan,
commander of Apollo 17, still holds the distinction of being the last human to
walk on the moon, as no one has revisited since December 14, 1972. Captain Cernan will be 79 years old on March
14, 2013.
Sources:
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