Eugene Cernan, Last Man On The Moon, Dies At 82

Astronaut Eugene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon and commander of Apollo 17, has died at age 82.

Eugene Cernan was the last man to boldly go and walk on the lunar surface. Cernan and the crew of Apollo 17 reached the moon in December of 1972, forty five years later they are still the final men to make that voyage.

Cernan and his crew were scientists, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t enjoy their time on the lunar surface…

NASA had this to say about Cernan and the crew of Apollo 17:

"Cernan concluded his historic space exploration career as commander of the last human mission to the moon in December 1972. En route to the moon, the crew captured an iconic photo of the home planet, with an entire hemisphere fully illumnitated — a “whole Earth” view showing Africa, the Arabian peninsula and the south polar ice cap. The hugely popular photo was referred to by some as the “Blue Marble,” a title in use for an ongoing series of NASA Earth imagery.Apollo 17 established several new records for human space flight, including the longest lunar landing flight (301 hours, 51 minutes); longest lunar surface extravehicular activities (22 hours, 6 minutes); largest lunar sample return (nearly 249 pounds); and longest time in lunar orbit (147 hours, 48 minutes).Cernan and crewmate Harrison H. (Jack) Schmitt completed three highly successful excursions to the nearby craters and the Taurus-Littrow mountains, making the moon their home for more than three days. As he left the lunar surface, Cernan said, “America’s challenge of today has forged man’s destiny of tomorrow. As we leave the moon and Taurus-Littrow, we leave as we came, and, God willing, we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind.”"

Those words stick with you, now more than ever.

"“America’s challenge of today has forged man’s destiny of tomorrow. As we leave the moon and Taurus-Littrow, we leave as we came, and, God willing, we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind.”"

Let’s hope we do boldy go back soon, for now though rest in peace Eugene Cernan and know that we appreicate all you did in the name of space exploration.