Apollo 17: The Last Men on the Moon

"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."- Gene Cernan 🫡🌕🚀 Apollo 17 Timeline - Pastebin.com Apollo 17: The Last Men on the Moon : Transcript - Pastebin.com Source material - thanks to the tireless and masterful work of Jackson Tyler via HomemadeDocumentaries. The Secondary goal of this podcast is For listeners to actually check out the video that he put together for everyone else to sit back and enjoy for two hours. He's a masterful documentary story teller who deserves all the praise in the world. The final lunar mission of the Apollo program, Apollo 17, launched at night on December 7th, 1972, after a delay caused by a faulty diode in the launch sequencer. This marked the first nighttime launch of a Saturn V rocket. The mission was commanded by Eugene Cernan, with Ronald Evans as Command Module Pilot and Harrison Schmitt as Lunar Module Pilot. The decision to include Schmitt, a geologist, on the crew was unusual but driven by the desire to send a scientist to the Moon. After a smooth journey, Apollo 17 landed in the Taurus-Littrow valley on December 11th, 1972. Cernan's first words upon stepping onto the lunar surface were, "That's why we've got a slight pitch-up angle. The red looks beautiful." Shortly after, he remarked that the surface was not as smooth as he had expected. He dedicated the mission to all those who made it possible, a sentiment echoed in his famous words spoken before leaving the Moon: "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." Their mission was to collect samples and conduct experiments to understand the Moon's history and its relationship to Earth and the solar system. This included deploying a suite of new instruments, such as a lunar sounder to map the subsurface structure of the valley. The crew faced some challenges, including a broken fender on the lunar rover that required a creative fix using maps and duct tape. One of the most significant discoveries of the mission was the presence of orange soil, found at a crater nicknamed Shorty. This soil, composed of tiny volcanic glass beads, provided evidence of past explosive volcanic eruptions on the Moon. Over three moonwalks, the crew spent over 22 hours exploring the Taurus-Littrow valley, covering nearly 36 kilometers in their lunar rover. They deployed explosive charges to create seismic waves for mapping the subsurface structure and collected a diverse range of lunar samples, including rocks and soil. Before departing, Cernan left a plaque on the lunar module ladder, signifying the completion of humanity's first exploration of the Moon in December 1972. Apollo 17 marked the end of the Apollo program, leaving behind a legacy of scientific discovery and technological achievement. The mission also served as a powerful symbol of human ambition and international cooperation, a testament to what can be accomplished when nations work together towards a common goal. The samples and data collected continue to be studied today, providing insights into the Moon's formation and evolution.