On December 7, 1972, NASA’s Apollo 17 mission took off under the command of Gene Cernan. Four days later, the crew touched down on the lunar surface. It was Cernan’s third and final trip to space — and, as it would turn out, the final time to date that NASA would send a team to walk on the moon.
For all the seemingly buttoned-down operations of a government organization like National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Cernan simply wasn’t able to hide a childlike excitement at becoming one of only a dozen people to walk on the lunar surface.
“We’d like to dedicate the first steps of Apollo 17 to all those who made it possible,” the astronaut radioed upon exiting the lander.
