Fifty-four years since the last person set foot on the Moonpublished at 17:13 BST
17:13 BST
Alison Francis
Senior science journalist, reporting from Mission Control
Image source, Getty Images
“As we leave the Moon… 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.”
These were the words spoken in December 1972 by Commander Eugene “Gene” Cernan, the last astronaut to walk on the Moon, as he prepared to climb the ladder into the lunar module for the flight home.
Cernan, and his pilot Harrison Schmitt, set several records during their three days in the Taurus-Littrow valley: the longest stay on the Moon – 75 hours – the unofficial lunar rover speed record – 11.2 mph – and the largest amount of rock and dust sample collected – 110kg (243lb).
That sample included some orange soil – small spheres of volcanic glass later found to contain tiny traces of water.
Before leaving the Moon’s surface, Cernan wrote his daughter Teresa Dawn Cernan’s initials in the lunar dust. They’re still there, undisturbed amongst the footprints and tyre tracks.
Gene Cernan didn’t know it would be more than 50 years before humans would make the journey back to the Moon. The next mission to land, scheduled by 2028, will be at a different location – the lunar south pole.