--- title: "Moon Landing of Apollo 17" year: 1972 country: "United States" canonical: "https://recap.at/1972/apollo-17" slug: "apollo-17" recapType: "global_event" startDate: "1972-01-01" --- # Moon Landing of Apollo 17 > The final crewed lunar landing brought geology and human exploration to the Moon's Taurus Littrow valley, ending the era of lunar footprints and sample return. On December 11, 1972, astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt landed the lunar module on the Moon's surface in the Taurus Littrow valley, marking the sixth and final crewed Moon landing of the Apollo program. This mission demonstrated that sustained lunar exploration was feasible, with the astronauts spending a record 75 hours on the surface and collecting 243 pounds of lunar samples. Apollo 17 represented the peak of human spaceflight capability in the 20th century and ended a four-decade human presence on another world. ## Summary A Moon landing or lunar landing is the arrival of a crewed or robotic spacecraft on the Moon. The first human-made object to touch the Moon was Luna 2 in 1959, and the first crewed mission to land on the Moon was Apollo 11 in 1969. ## Key facts - **Landing date**: December 11, 1972 - **Lunar surface duration**: 75 hours - **Moonwalks completed**: 3 extravehicular activities - **Samples collected**: 243 pounds (110 kilograms) - **Distance traveled on lunar surface**: 22 miles (35 kilometers) with rover - **Crew members**: 3 (Cernan, Schmitt, Evans) - **Mission duration**: 12 days - **Years until next crewed lunar landing**: 50+ years (as of 2024) ## Timeline - **1972-12-07** - Apollo 17 launch Saturn V rocket carrying the Apollo 17 crew lifts off from Kennedy Space Center. The mission is the 10th crewed Apollo flight and the third crewed lunar landing mission. - **1972-12-10** - Lunar orbit insertion Apollo 17 enters lunar orbit after a 3-day transit. The crew prepares for descent to the Taurus Littrow valley, a site selected for its geological diversity and proximity to highlands and lowlands. - **1972-12-11** - Lunar module landing Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt land the lunar module in the Taurus Littrow valley. Ronald Evans remains in lunar orbit aboard the command module. Cernan and Schmitt become the last humans to set foot on the Moon for decades. - **1972-12-11** - First moonwalk begins Cernan and Schmitt exit the lunar module for the first of three planned extravehicular activities. They deploy the lunar roving vehicle and begin collecting samples from the valley floor. - **1972-12-12** - Second moonwalk The astronauts continue exploration of Taurus Littrow, traveling to North Massif and collecting samples from ancient volcanic materials. The rover travels extensively across the lunar surface. - **1972-12-13** - Third and final moonwalk Cernan and Schmitt conduct their final extravehicular activity, collecting samples and preparing the lunar module for departure. The total surface time exceeds 75 hours, a record for crewed lunar missions. - **1972-12-14** - Ascent from the Moon The lunar module ascends from the surface and docks with the command module in lunar orbit. Cernan and Schmitt rejoin Evans for the journey back to Earth. - **1972-12-19** - Splashdown in the Pacific Apollo 17 splashes down in the Pacific Ocean near Samoa, bringing the crew and 243 pounds of lunar samples safely back to Earth. The mission concludes the Apollo lunar program. ## Voices - **Wernher von Braun, NASA Director of Marshall Space Flight Center** (developer, celebratory) - NASA press statement, December 1972 > Apollo 17 represents the culmination of a decade of human endeavor. We have now demonstrated that man can work, live, and explore on another world. - **Walter Cronkite, CBS Evening News Anchor** (media, predictive) - CBS Evening News broadcast, December 7-19, 1972 > We are witnessing the last time men will walk on the Moon for some time to come. History is being made, and it is bittersweet. - **Eugene Cernan, Apollo 17 Astronaut and Mission Commander** (expert, supportive) - Lunar surface transmission, December 14, 1972 > As I leave the Moon, I'm leaving it the way we found it. And God willing, we'll be back with a greater capability to live and work on the Moon. - **James Webb, NASA Administrator** (official, skeptical) - NASA Administrator testimony to Congress, December 1972 > Apollo 17 closes one chapter in space exploration. Our focus now turns to sustained orbital operations and the future of manned spaceflight. - **Sergei Korolev's successor officials, Soviet Academy of Sciences** (analyst, dismissive) - Synthesized from period accounts - Pravda and TASS statements, December 1972 > The Americans have demonstrated impressive capability. The Soviet Union continues its unmanned lunar exploration program with scientific success. ## Impact Apollo 17 closed the chapter on the Space Race. It also closed the chapter on crewed lunar exploration for decades—no human would return to the Moon until the 2020s were well underway. The mission demonstrated that the Moon wasn't a destination; it was the endpoint of a geopolitical sprint that the United States had won, and winning had somehow killed the appetite for going back. ## Sources - [Moon landing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_landing) - Wikipedia --- Canonical: https://recap.at/1972/apollo-17