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VETERANIn MemoriamNASA
VETERANIn MemoriamNASANASA·🇺🇸 United States·Born 1934
Gene Cernan
Commander of Apollo 17 and the last human to walk on the Moon, in December 1972.
566h
Hours in Space
3
Missions
4
EVAs
24h
EVA Time
Biography
Commander of Apollo 17 and the last human to walk on the Moon, in December 1972. He died in 2017.
Before NASAU.S. Navy aviator who earned a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from Purdue University, flew jets including the FJ-4 Fury and A-4 Skyhawk in attack squadrons, logged over 5,000 flight hours and about 200 carrier landings, and earned a Master's in aeronautical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School before NASA selected him in 1963.
Mission Timeline
- Pilot
Gemini spacecraft
Gemini 9A
Launch: Jun 3, 1966Landing: Jun 6, 1966Duration: 3 days- Grueling two-hour EVA that reshaped NASA spacewalk training
- Lunar Module Pilot
Apollo LM Snoopy
Apollo 10
Launch: May 18, 1969Landing: May 26, 1969Duration: 8 days- Flew the LM to within 15 km of the lunar surface
- Commander
Apollo CSM America / LM Challenger
Apollo 17
Launch: Dec 7, 1972Landing: Dec 19, 1972Duration: 12 days- Last human to walk on the Moon (December 1972)
Beyond the Mission
Hobbies & Interests
flyingpublic speakingwriting
Languages
English
Fun fact
As the last person to walk on the Moon, Cernan paused before climbing back into the lunar module on Apollo 17 and scratched his daughter Tracy's initials — T D C — into the lunar dust, where they remain undisturbed to this day.
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