[msb-alumni] Gene Cernan, Last Man to Walk on the Moon Dead at 82

From: Steve <pipeguy920@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <msb-alumni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2017 17:45:12 -0500

Blank
Dead
Born: 3/14/1934 in Bellwood, Illinois, USA
Died: 1/16/2017
Age: 82

Full name: Eugene Andrew Cernan
Noted For: U.S. astronaut; flew on the Gemini 9 mission in 1966; flew on the
Apollo 10 mission (as lunar module pilot) in 1969; as commander of the Apollo
17
mission in 1972, was one of the last two of twelve men to walk on the moon.
Quotation: "We leave as we came and, God willing, as we shall return, with
peace
and hope for all mankind."

Eugene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon, died Monday, Jan. 16,
surrounded by his family.

Photo gallery of Eugene Cernan

Cernan, a Captain in the U.S. Navy, left his mark on the history of exploration
by flying three times in space, twice to the moon. He also holds the distinction
of being the second American to walk in space and the last human to leave his
footprints on the lunar surface.

He was one of 14 astronauts selected by NASA in October 1963. He piloted the
Gemini 9 mission with Commander Thomas P. Stafford on a three-day flight in
June 1966. Cernan logged more than two hours outside the orbiting capsule.

In May 1969, he was the lunar module pilot of Apollo 10, the first
comprehensive
lunar-orbital qualification and verification test of the lunar lander.
The mission confirmed the performance, stability, and reliability of the Apollo
command, service and lunar modules. The mission included a descent to within
eight nautical miles of the moon's surface.

In a 2007 interview for NASA's oral histories, Cernan said, "I keep telling
Neil
Armstrong that we painted that white line in the sky all the way to the
Moon down to 47,000 feet so he wouldn't get lost, and all he had to do was
land.
Made it sort of easy for him."

Full oral history interview with Eugene Cernan.

Apollo 17 Commander Eugene Cernan and the U.S. flag on the lunar surface.
Apollo 17 Commander Eugene Cernan and the U.S. flag on the lunar surface.
Credits: NASA
as17-162-24053.jpg
Cernan and Evans in Apollo 17
Credits: NASA

Cernan concluded his historic space exploration career as commander of the last
human mission to the moon in December 1972. En route to the moon, the crew
captured
an iconic photo
of the home planet, with an entire hemisphere fully illumnitated -- a "whole
Earth" view showing Africa, the Arabian peninsula and the south polar ice
cap. The hugely popular photo was referred to by some as the "Blue Marble," a
title in use for an ongoing series of NASA Earth imagery.
Apollo 17 established several new records for human space flight, including the
longest lunar landing flight (301 hours, 51 minutes); longest lunar surface
extravehicular activities (22 hours, 6 minutes); largest lunar sample return
(nearly 249 pounds); and longest time in lunar orbit (147 hours, 48 minutes).

Cernan and crewmate Harrison H. (Jack) Schmitt completed three highly
successful
excursions to the nearby craters and the Taurus-Littrow mountains, making
the moon their home for more than three days. As he left the lunar surface,
Cernan said, "America's challenge of today has forged man's destiny of tomorrow.
As we leave the moon and Taurus-Littrow, we leave as we came, and, God willing,
we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind."

'I Was Strolling on the Moon One Day' - YouTube frame
'I Was Strolling on the Moon One Day'
Watch later as pipeguy
Share
Watch 'I Was Strolling on the Moon One Day'
'I Was Strolling on the Moon One Day' - YouTube frame end

"Apollo 17 built upon all of the other missions scientifically," said Cernan in
2008,
recalling the mission
as the agency celebrated its 50th Anniversary. "We had a lunar rover, we were
able to cover more ground than most of the other missions. We stayed there
a little bit longer. We went to a more challenging unique area in the
mountains,
to learn something about the history and the origin of the moon itself."

On their way to the moon, the Apollo 17 crew took one of the most iconic
photographs in space-program history, the full view of the Earth dubbed "The
Blue
Marble." Despite it's fame, the photograph hasn't really been appreciated,
Cernan said in 2007.

Earth Missions Image Gallery
This classic photograph of the Earth was taken on December 7, 1972.
Credits: NASA
astronautprofiles

"What is the real meaning of seeing this picture? I've always said, I've said
for a long time, I still believe it, it's going to be -- well it's almost
fifty now, but fifty or a hundred years in the history of mankind before we
look
back and really understand the meaning of Apollo. Really understand what
humankind had done when we left, when we truly left this planet, we're able to
call another body in this universe our home. We did it way too early considering
what we're doing now in space. It's almost as if JFK reached out into the
twenty-first century where we are today, grabbed hold of a decade of time,
slipped
it neatly into the (nineteen) sixties and seventies (and) called it Apollo."

On July 1, 1976, Cernan retired from the Navy after 20 years and ended his NASA
career. He went into private business and served as television commentator
for early fights of the space shuttle.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/16/us/eugene-cernan-dies/

Follow-Ups:
- [msb-alumni] Re: Gene Cernan, Last Man to Walk on the Moon Dead at 82
  - From: Kalan J. Weingartz

[msb-alumni] Gene Cernan, Last Man to Walk on the Moon Dead at 82

Other related posts: