Eugene Cernan Remembered: Photos of the Last Man on the Moon

Apollo 17 Command Module

NASA

The surface of the moon is seen reflected on the America command module during Cernan's 1972 Apollo 17 moon landing mission.

Cernan Moon Dust Sketch

NASA

The effect of dust around the moon was seen by Apollo 17 astronaut Eugene Cernan, who sketched this image of the dust glow during a lunar sunrise, in 1972.

A Nighttime Moon Shot

NASA Marshall Space Flight Center

The launch of Apollo 17 was actually NASA's first nighttime launch of a Saturn V rocket.

Liftoff for Apollo 17

NASA

Cernan launched on the Apollo 17 mission, the last crewed moon landing of the 20th Century, on Dec. 7, 1972 at 12:33 a.m. EST.

Return to Earth

NASA

Cernan returned to Earth with the Apollo 17 crew on Dec. 19, 1972, splashing down 648 kilometers (350 nautical miles) southeast of American Samoa.

Earth to Apollo 17

NASA

Here's a view of Earth that Cernan and his Apollo 17 crewmates Harrison Schmitt and Command Module Pilot Ron Evans.

Apollo 17 on the Pad

NASA

A view of Cernan's Saturn V moon rocket on the launchpad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center for the Apollo 17 lunar landing mission in December 1972.

The Apollo 17 Crew

NASA

Apollo 17 commander Eugene Cernan poses with his crewmates, lunar module pilot Harrison Schmitt and command module pilot Ron Evans, ahead of their December 1972 launch to the moon.

Practicing for Moon Walks

NASA

Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt take part in a simulated moonwalk on Earth to rehearse the tasks they performed on the lunar surface. Here, Schmitt is scooping up a "sample" of simulated moon dirt while Cernan stands nearby.

Cernan and Film Crew

Mark Stewart Productions

Gene Cernan (center) with "The Last Man on the Moon" film crew at his ranch in Texas.

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Tariq Malik
Editor-in-Chief

Tariq is the Editor-in-Chief of Space.com and joined the team in 2001, first as an intern and staff writer, and later as an editor. He covers human spaceflight, exploration and space science, as well as skywatching and entertainment. He became Space.com's Managing Editor in 2009 and Editor-in-Chief in 2019. Before joining Space.com, Tariq was a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times covering education and city beats in La Habra, Fullerton and Huntington Beach. In October 2022, Tariq received the Harry Kolcum Award for excellence in space reporting from the National Space Club Florida Committee. He is also an Eagle Scout (yes, he has the Space Exploration merit badge) and went to Space Camp four times as a kid and a fifth time as an adult. He has journalism degrees from the University of Southern California and New York University. You can find Tariq at Space.com and as the co-host to the This Week In Space podcast with space historian Rod Pyle on the TWiT network. To see his latest project, you can follow Tariq on Twitter @tariqjmalik.