By 1972, NASA had already canceled later Apollo landing missions, making Apollo 17 the planned last crewed lunar landing of the Apollo era. The mission’s goals emphasized field science: visiting a geologically diverse site and returning a large, well-documented sample collection.
Apollo 17 lifted off from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A just after midnight Eastern Time, making it the only Saturn V mission to launch at night. The three-person crew was Eugene Cernan, Ronald Evans, and Harrison “Jack” Schmitt, with Schmitt serving as the program’s only professional geologist to land on the Moon.
After reaching Earth parking orbit, the mission performed the major burn that sent the Command and Service Module (CSM) and Lunar Module (LM) onto a trajectory toward the Moon. This maneuver began the multi-day coast to lunar orbit and set up the landing sequence at Taurus–Littrow.
Apollo 17 performed lunar orbit insertion, placing the spacecraft into orbit around the Moon. The crew then adjusted the orbit to support a landing at Taurus–Littrow, a site chosen to sample both highland material and possible volcanic deposits.
The Lunar Module Challenger, carrying Cernan and Schmitt, landed in the Taurus–Littrow Valley while Evans remained in lunar orbit in the CSM America. The landing opened the last Apollo surface campaign, designed to maximize geology fieldwork with the Lunar Roving Vehicle and a large sampling plan.
Cernan and Schmitt began their first extravehicular activity (EVA), starting hands-on geology work soon after landing. They used the rover and tools to document the site, collect samples, and set the rhythm for three long EVAs focused on careful observation and mapping.
During the surface stay, the crew set up the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP), a set of instruments designed to keep recording after the astronauts left. These instruments supported studies such as lunar seismic activity and heat flow, extending Apollo 17’s scientific value beyond the mission dates.
On the second EVA, the crew found a striking orange-colored soil deposit near Shorty Crater. Later analysis showed it contained abundant volcanic glass particles, evidence that explosive lunar volcanism had occurred in the region’s past.
By the end of the third EVA, Apollo 17 had carried out three long moonwalks totaling about 22 hours on the surface. The crew’s rover traverses and sampling plan produced the largest Apollo return of lunar rocks and soil, along with extensive photos and notes used to interpret the site’s history.
After about 75 hours on the lunar surface, the LM ascent stage launched from Taurus–Littrow to rejoin the CSM in orbit. This liftoff ended the final human stay on the Moon of the Apollo era and marked the transition from surface fieldwork back to orbital and return operations.
During the return trip to Earth, Ronald Evans conducted a spacewalk to retrieve film canisters from the Service Module’s instrument bay before it was discarded. This “deep space” EVA was the last EVA of the Apollo program and protected key mapping and sensing data from being lost.
The Command Module America splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean, ending a 12-day mission. Apollo 17 was the sixth and final crewed Apollo landing and remains the most recent time humans have walked on the Moon.
Apollo 17 (1972): Final Apollo Lunar Mission and Field Science