In the December 1972 issue popular science, author Alden P. Armagnac described Apollo 17 as “the most exciting geological expedition in history.” This moon landing ended NASA’s ground-breaking Apollo program and was the last US moon landing of the 20th century.
This week, the United States returned to the moon for the first time in 51 years with the unmanned lander Odysseus, which became the first civilian spacecraft to survive a lunar landing. Odysseus (or “Odie”) was built by Texas-based Intuitive Machines and carried a payload that included navigation and technology experiments for NASA. NASA plans to use these instruments to collect important data ahead of a crewed mission planned for later this decade.
December 1972 issue popular science It included a preview of the Apollo 17 mission and a look back at previous Apollo missions.
To commemorate America’s return to the moon, we wanted to take a look back at Apollo 17 in images. Captain Gene Cernan, Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmidt, and Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans took off from Kennedy Space Center on December 7, 1972. The 12-day mission included several notable feats. , the first poem read from the surface of the moon, and completed 75 orbits around the moon.
Armagnac writes: “When future lunar settlers write the history of humans on the moon, its most dramatic chapter must be his 1969 to 1972 Apollo adventure.”21st century lunar exploration We will have to wait and see what drastic changes it brings.
This photo taken from the Apollo 17 spacecraft in lunar orbit during NASA’s final Apollo lunar landing mission shows the crescent of Earth above the lunar horizon. I am. Astronaut Captain Eugene A. Cernan and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison H. Schmidt during their descent in the Lunar Module (LM) Challenger to explore the Taurus-Littrow region of the Moon. , astronaut Ronald E. Evans (command module pilot) descended aboard the lunar module Challenger. He remained in the Command and Service Module (CSM) “America” in lunar orbit. Photo: NASAThe Apollo 17 Lunar Rover (LRV) is photographed near a large rock on the moon’s surface during the third Apollo 17 extravehicular activity (EVA) at the Taurus-Littrow landing site. The landscape, which shows about half of the rock, was photographed by mission commander astronaut Eugene A. Cernan. Command module pilot astronaut Ronald E. Evans as astronauts Cernan and Harrison H. Schmidt descend on the Lunar Module (LM) Challenger to explore the lunar surface. remained aboard the Command and Service Ship (CSM) in lunar orbit. Photo: NASAAstronaut Eugene A. Cernan stands near an overhanging rock during Apollo 17’s third lunar extravehicular activity (EVA) at the Taurus Littrow landing site. Scientist and astronaut Harrison H. Schmidt took this photo. A tripod-like object just outside the shaded area is an assembly of gnomons and photometric charts used as a photographic reference to establish local vertical solar angle, scale, and lunar color. is. The gnomon is his one of Apollo’s lunar geology hand tools. While astronauts Cernan and Schmidt descended on the lunar module Challenger to explore the moon, astronaut Ronald E. Evans remained in lunar orbit with the Apollo 17 command and service module. I did. Photo: NASAAstronaut Eugene A. Cernan, commander of Apollo 17, is photographed next to the U.S. flag deployed during a lunar extravehicular activity (EVA) at the Taurus Littrow landing site. The highest part of the flag appears to point to the Earth in the distant background. This photo was taken by scientist, astronaut, and lunar module pilot Harrison H. Schmidt. While astronauts Cernan and Schmidt descended to the Lunar Module (LM) to explore the Moon, Command Module Pilot Astronaut Ronald E. Evans conducted command and service operations in lunar orbit. I stayed on the ship (CSM). Photo: NASA A wide-angle view of the Apollo 17 Taurus-Littrow lunar landing site. On the left side of the background is the lunar module. On the right side of the background is the lunar rover. The Apollo 17 crew is photographed between his two locations. The shadow of the astronaut taking the photo can be seen in the right foreground. Photo: NASAIn this illustration, looking out the window of the Lunar Module (LM), you can see the U.S. flag on the moon’s surface. This view looks towards the northern massif. The LM thrusters are visible in the foreground. Command Module Pilot Ronald as astronaut Captain Eugene A. Cernan and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison H. Schmidt descend on LM Challenger to explore the Taurus-Littrow region of the Moon. – Astronaut E. Evans remained on the lunar module. Command and Service Module (CSM) “America” in lunar orbit. Photo: NASA The much talked about orange soil discovered at Station 4 (Shorty Crater) by the Apollo 17 crew during Apollo 17’s second extravehicular activity (EVA) at the Taurus-Littrow landing site. Enlarged view. Orange soil was first discovered by scientist and astronaut Harrison H. Schmidt. Astronaut Ronald E. Evans commanded Apollo 17 while Astronauts Schmidt and Eugene A. Cernan descended on the Lunar Module (LM) Challenger to explore the lunar surface.・It remained in lunar orbit together with the service ship (CSM). The orange soil was never seen by the crew of the other moon landing mission, Apollo 11 (Sea of Tranquility). Apollo 12 (Stormy Sea); Apollo 14 (Fra Mauro); Apollo 15 (Hadley Apennines); and Apollo 16 (Descartes). Photo: NASAScientist and astronaut Harrison H. Schmidt loses his balance and falls during Apollo 17’s second extravehicular activity (EVA) at the Taurus Littrow landing site. Color RCA TV camera on board the lunar rover. Schmidt was the lunar module pilot for Apollo his 17 lunar landing mission. Command module pilot Astronaut Ronald E. Evans remained in lunar orbit with the Apollo 17 command and service module, while Astronaut Schmidt and Commander Eugene A. Cernan returned to the moon to explore the moon. It descended onto the lander Challenger. Photo: NASAA stunning view of Apollo 17’s Command and Service Module (CSM) taken from the Lunar Module (LM) Challenger during rendezvous and docking operations in lunar orbit. The Lunar Module’s ascent stage, carrying astronauts Eugene A. Cernan and Harrison H. Schmidt, had just returned from the Taurus-Littrow landing site on the moon’s surface. Astronaut Ronald E. Evans remained in lunar orbit with the CSM. Note the exposed Scientific Instrument Module (SIM) bay in Sector 1 of the Service Module (SM). The SIM bay houses three of his experiments: the S-209 Lunar Probe, the S-171 Infrared Scanning Spectrometer, and the S-169 Far-UV Spectrometer. The SIM bay also houses a panoramic camera, a mapping camera, and a laser altimeter, which are used to take photos of the service module. On the right is part of the LM. Photo: NASA
