# Canonical recap data for Moon Landing of Apollo 17 (1972)
# Source: https://recap.at/1972/apollo-17
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: apollo-17
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1972/apollo-17"
title: Moon Landing of Apollo 17
aliases:
- Apollo 17
- Taurus Littrow mission
- Final Moon landing
- Last crewed lunar mission
subtitle: 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.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1972-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1972
decade: 1970
country:
name: United States
slug: united-states
summaryShort: 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.
summaryLong: 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.
lede: 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.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b3/Moon_Soft_Landings.svg/1280px-Moon_Soft_Landings.svg.png"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Moon landing"
importance: 82
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Landing date
  value: December 11, 1972
- label: Lunar surface duration
  value: 75 hours
- label: Moonwalks completed
  value: 3 extravehicular activities
- label: Samples collected
  value: 243 pounds (110 kilograms)
- label: Distance traveled on lunar surface
  value: 22 miles (35 kilometers) with rover
- label: Crew members
  value: 3 (Cernan, Schmitt, Evans)
- label: Mission duration
  value: 12 days
- label: Years until next crewed lunar landing
  value: 50+ years (as of 2024)
timeline:
- date: 1972-12-07
  title: Apollo 17 launch
  description: 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.
- date: 1972-12-10
  title: Lunar orbit insertion
  description: 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.
- date: 1972-12-11
  title: Lunar module landing
  description: 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.
- date: 1972-12-11
  title: First moonwalk begins
  description: 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.
- date: 1972-12-12
  title: Second moonwalk
  description: 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.
- date: 1972-12-13
  title: Third and final moonwalk
  description: 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.
- date: 1972-12-14
  title: Ascent from the Moon
  description: 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.
- date: 1972-12-19
  title: Splashdown in the Pacific
  description: 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.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_landing"
  title: Moon landing
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: 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.
categories:
- launch
metaDescription: "Apollo 17: The final crewed Moon landing, December 1972. Record surface time, 243 lbs of samples, last humans on lunar soil for 50+ years."
wikidataQid: Q495307
taxonomy:
domain: technological
eventTypes:
- space_mission
canonicalClasses:
- discovery
- creation
impactRadius: global
velocity: sudden
predictability: scheduled
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
peoplesVoice:
- source: Wernher von Braun, NASA Director of Marshall Space Flight Center
  voiceType: developer
  context: Von Braun reflected on Apollo 17 as the final Moon landing mission, marking the end of an era he had championed since the Space Race began.
  excerpt: 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.
  sentimentLabel: celebratory
  significance: 85
  attribution: NASA press statement, December 1972
  publishedAt: 1972-12-11
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Walter Cronkite, CBS Evening News Anchor
  voiceType: media
  context: Cronkite, who had narrated the entire Space Race for American audiences, delivered commentary as the final Moon mission unfolded.
  excerpt: 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.
  sentimentLabel: predictive
  significance: 88
  attribution: CBS Evening News broadcast, December 7-19, 1972
  publishedAt: 1972-12-07
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Eugene Cernan, Apollo 17 Astronaut and Mission Commander
  voiceType: expert
  context: Cernan, standing on the lunar surface, offered reflections on humanity's place on the Moon as he prepared to depart for the final time.
  excerpt: 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.
  sentimentLabel: supportive
  significance: 90
  attribution: Lunar surface transmission, December 14, 1972
  publishedAt: 1972-12-14
  originalLanguage: en
- source: James Webb, NASA Administrator
  voiceType: official
  context: Webb was the namesake of Apollo's successor program; officials were already justifying why Moon missions would pause after Apollo 17.
  excerpt: Apollo 17 closes one chapter in space exploration. Our focus now turns to sustained orbital operations and the future of manned spaceflight.
  sentimentLabel: skeptical
  significance: 72
  attribution: NASA Administrator testimony to Congress, December 1972
  publishedAt: 1972-12-20
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Sergei Korolev's successor officials, Soviet Academy of Sciences
  voiceType: analyst
  context: Soviet space officials, having lost the Moon race, offered measured commentary on Apollo 17 while maintaining focus on their own robotic lunar program.
  excerpt: The Americans have demonstrated impressive capability. The Soviet Union continues its unmanned lunar exploration program with scientific success.
  sentimentLabel: dismissive
  significance: 65
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Pravda and TASS statements, December 1972
  publishedAt: 1972-12-15
  originalLanguage: en
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260521151518/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_landing"
  capturedAt: 2026-05-21
  label: Moon landing
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_landing"
