Apollo

{{Infobox Space mission|
mission_name = ''Apollo 17''|
insignia = Apollo_17-insignia.png|
stats_ref =<ref name="Orloff">{{cite web | url = http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4029/Apollo_00g_Table_of_Contents.htm | title = ''Apollo'' by the Numbers: A Statistical Reference (SP-4029) | author = Richard W. Orloff | publisher = NASA }}</ref>|
sign = [[Apollo Command/Service Module|Command module]]: ''America'' [[Apollo Lunar Module|Lunar module]]: ''Challenger''|
crew_members = 3 |
command_module = CM-114 |
service_module = SM-114 |
lunar_module = LM-12 |
booster = [[Saturn V]] SA-512 |
launch_pad = [[Kennedy Space Center]], [[Florida]] [[Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39|LC 39A]] |
launch = [[December 7]], [[1972]] 05:33:00 [[UTC]] |
lunar_landing = [[December 11]], [[1972]] 02:23:35 UTC [[Taurus-Littrow]] 20° 11' 26.88" N, 30° 46' 18.05" E (based on the [[International Astronomical Union|IAU]] Mean Earth Polar Axis [[coordinate system]])|
lunar_eva_length = 1st: 07:11:53 2nd: 07:36:56 3rd: 07:15:08 Total: 22:03:57 |
lunar_surface_time = 3d/02:59:40 |
lrv = LRV-3 |
cmp_eva = 01:05:44 |
lunar_sample_mass = 110.52 kg (243.65 lb)|
landing = [[December 19]], [[1972]] 19:24:59 UTC {{coor dm|17|53|S|166|7|W|}} |
time_lunar_orbits = 6d/03:43:37 |
mass = [[Apollo Command/Service Module|CSM]]: 30,369 kg [[Apollo Lunar Module|LM]]: 16,456 kg|
crew_photo = Apollo 17 crew.jpg|
crew_caption = L-R: Schmitt, Cernan (seated) and Evans|
previous = [[image: Apollo-16-LOGO.png|35px]] [[Apollo 16]]|
next = [[image:Skylab1-Patch.png|35px]] [[Skylab 2]]|
duration = 12d/13:51:59
|}}

'''Apollo 17''' was the eleventh [[Human spaceflight|manned space mission]] in the [[NASA]] [[Apollo program]]. It was the first night launch and the sixth and final lunar landing mission of the Apollo program. [[As of 2007]], it remains the most recent manned [[Moon landing]] (the next planned human lunar landing – [[Orion 17]] – will also be by NASA, and is planned for 2019, but no later than 2020).

== Crew ==
Number in parentheses indicates number of spaceflights by each individual prior to and including this mission.
* [[Eugene Cernan|Eugene A. Cernan]] (3) - Commander
* [[Ronald Evans|Ronald E. Evans]] (1) - Command Module Pilot
* [[Harrison Schmitt|Harrison H. "Jack" Schmitt]] (1) - Lunar Module Pilot

=== Backup crew ===

* [[John Watts Young|John W. Young]] - Commander
* [[Stuart Roosa]] - Command Module Pilot
* [[Charles Moss Duke, Jr.|Charles M. Duke]] - Lunar Module Pilot

=== Support Crew ===
* [[Robert F. Overmyer|Robert Overmyer]]
* [[Robert A. Parker|Bob Parker]]
* [[Gordon Fullerton]]

== Mission parameters ==

* '''Mass:'''
** Launch mass: 6,445,000 lb (2,923,400 kg)
** Total spacecraft: 102,900 lb (46,700 kg)
*** CSM mass: 66,840 lb (30,320 kg), of which CM was 13,140 lb (5960 kg), SM 53,700 lb (24,360 kg)
*** LM mass: transposition and docking stage 36,274 lb (16,454 kg), separation for lunar landing 36,771 lb (16,679 kg), ascent stage at liftoff 10,997 lb (4,988 kg)
* '''Earth orbits:''' 2 before leaving for Moon, approximately one on return
* '''Lunar orbits:''' 75

* '''[[apsis|Perigee]]:''' 104.9 mi (168.9 km)
* '''[[Apogee]]:''' 106.4 mi (171.3 km)
* '''[[Inclination]]:''' 28.526°
* '''[[Orbital period|Period]]:''' 87.83 min

* '''[[Perilune]]:''' 60.5 mi (97.4 km)
* '''[[Apolune]]:''' 195.6 mi (314.8 km)
* '''[[Inclination]]:''' 159.9°
* '''[[Orbital period|Period]]:''' ~120 min
* '''Landing Site:''' [http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/lunar_sites.html 20.19080° N - 30.77168° E] or

20° 11' 26.88" N - 30° 46' 18.05" E

=== Docking ===

* '''Undocked''': [[December 11]] [[1972]] - 17:20:56 UTC
* '''Docked''': [[December 15]] [[1972]] - 01:10:15 UTC

=== EVAs ===

* '''''Cernan and Schmitt''''' - EVA 1
* '''EVA 1 Start''': [[December 11]] [[1972]], 23:54:49 [[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]]
* '''EVA 1 End''': [[December 12]] 07:06:42 UTC
* '''Duration''': 7 hours, 11 minutes, 53 seconds

* '''''Cernan and Schmitt''''' - EVA 2
* '''EVA 2 Start''': [[December 12]] [[1972]], 23:28:06 UTC
* '''EVA 2 End''': [[December 13]] 07:05:02 UTC
* '''Duration''': 7 hours, 36 minutes, 56 seconds

* '''''Cernan and Schmitt''''' - EVA 3
* '''EVA 3 Start''': [[December 13]] [[1972]], 22:25:48 UTC
* '''EVA 3 End''': [[December 14]] 05:40:56 UTC
* '''Duration''': 7 hours, 15 minutes, 08 seconds

* ''''' Evans ''''' - Transearth EVA 4
* '''EVA 4 Start''': [[December 17]] [[1972]], 20:27:40 UTC
* '''EVA 4 End''': [[December 17]] 21:33:24 UTC
* '''Duration''': 1 hour, 05 minutes, 44 seconds

The splashdown point was 17° 52′ S, 166° 7′ W, 350 nautical miles (650 km) SE of the Samoan Islands and 6.5 km (4 mi) from the recovery ship [[USS Ticonderoga (CV-14)|USS ''Ticonderoga'']]. Apollo 17 landed approximately 640 meters from its target point.

== Mission highlights ==
{{Expand-section|date=June 2007}}

[[Image:As17-140-21391c1.jpg|thumb|left|Schmitt took this picture of Cernan flanked by an American flag and their [[lunar rover]]'s umbrella-shaped high-gain antenna near the beginning of their third and final excursion across the lunar surface. The prominent Sculptured Hills lie in the background while Schmitt's reflection can just be made out in Cernan's helmet.]]

[[Image:Moon-apollo17-schmitt boulder.jpg|thumb|right|Schmitt stands next to a large boulder during EVA 3]]

[[Image:As17-152-23391.jpg|thumb|Command Module pilot Ron Evans performs a trans-earth EVA to retrieve film from the Apollo 17 SIM Bay camera. (NASA)]]

[[Image:Ap17-S72-55974.jpg|thumb|Apollo 17 recovery operations. (NASA)]]

[[Image:A17-plaque.gif|right|thumb|Depiction of the plaque left on the moon by Apollo 17]]

[[Image:The Earth seen from Apollo 17.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Apollo 17 photo taken by [[Harrison Schmitt]] or [[Ronald Evans|Ron Evans]] [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,910523,00.html] of the Earth as the spacecraft headed for the moon (now known as "The [[Blue Marble]] photo")]]

One of the last two men to set foot on the Moon was also the first scientist-astronaut, geologist Harrison Schmitt. While Evans circled in ''America'', Schmitt and Cernan collected a record 109 kg (240 pounds) of rocks during three Moonwalks. The crew roamed for 34 km (21 miles) through the Taurus-Littrow valley in their rover, discovered orange-colored soil, and left the most comprehensive set of instruments in the [[ALSEP]] on the lunar surface. Their mission was the last in the Apollo lunar program.

=== Introduction ===

Crew members were [[Eugene Cernan]], commander; [[Ronald Evans|Ron Evans]], command module pilot; and [[Harrison Schmitt]], lunar module pilot.

The landing site for this mission was on the southeastern rim of the [[Mare Serenitatis]], in the southwestern [[Montes Taurus]]. This was a dark mantle between three high, steep [[massif]]s, in an area known as the Taurus-Littrow region. Pre-mission photographs showed boulders deposited along the bases of the mountains, which could provide bedrock samples. The area also contained a landslide, several impact craters, and some dark craters which could be volcanic.

A J-class mission, featuring the [[Lunar Rover]], they conducted three lunar surface excursions, lasting 7.2, 7.6 and 7.3 hours. The mission returned 110.5 kg (243.6 lb) of samples from the Moon.

The Command module is currently on display at NASA's [[Johnson Space Center]], in [[Houston, Texas]]. The lunar module impacted the Moon on [[December 15]] [[1972]] at 06:50:20.8 UT (1:50 AM EST) at 19.96 N, 30.50 E.

On this mission the astronauts took a famous photograph of the earth known as "[[The Blue Marble]]".

=== Mission notes ===

* Schmitt, a [[geology|geologist]], was the first (and to date, only) scientist to walk on the Moon.

* Like the astronauts of Apollos [[Apollo 10|10]], [[Apollo 12|12]], [[Apollo 13|13]], and [[Apollo 14|14]] before them, the Apollo 17 crew were recovered in [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] waters near [[American Samoa]] after [[splashdown (spacecraft landing)|splashdown]], and were flown from the recovery ship to the airport at [[Tafuna, American Samoa|Tafuna]] where they were greeted with an enthusiastic (and well practiced) Samoan reception before being flown on to [[Honolulu, Hawaii|Honolulu]], thence to Houston.

* The [[lunar plaques|plaque]] left on the ladder of the descent stage of ''Challenger'' read: ''Here Man completed his first explorations of the moon. December 1972 AD. May the spirit of peace in which we came be reflected in the lives of all mankind''. The plaque showed two hemispheres of Earth and the near side of the Moon, plus the signatures of Cernan, Evans, Schmitt, and [[Richard Nixon|President Nixon]].

* Commander Eugene Cernan took a Czechoslovak flag with him to the Moon because his ancestors came from [[Czechoslovakia]]. Later he gave it to the Institute of astronomy in Ondrejov (Czech republic).

* Schmitt was originally due to fly on the cancelled [[Apollo 18]] but following pressure from the science community was moved up to LM pilot on Apollo 17 in place of [[Joe Engle]].

* Apollo 17 broke several records set by previous flights, including longest manned lunar landing flight; longest total lunar surface extravehicular activities; largest lunar sample return, and longest time in lunar orbit.

* Apollo 17 was the last crewed NASA mission to land on the moon in the 20th century. The next crewed NASA mission to land on the Moon is very tentatively scheduled to occur in 2019 with [[Orion 17]] mission.

== Quotes ==

"Ah! You see one Earth, you've seen them all."

: – Jack Schmitt, Lunar Module Pilot.

"As I take man's last step from the surface, back home for some time to come — but we believe not too long into the future — I'd like to just [say] what I believe history will record — that America's challenge of today has forged man's destiny of tomorrow. And, as we leave the Moon at Taurus-Littrow, we leave as we came and, God willing, as we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind. Godspeed the crew of Apollo 17."

: – Eugene A. Cernan, Apollo 17 Commander. Last man to walk on the moon, [[December 14]] [[1972]].

"Okay, Jack. Let's get this mother outta here."

: – Eugene A. Cernan, Apollo 17 Commander. [[Apocrypha]]l last 'informal' words said on the lunar surface, one second before lunar liftoff (does not appear in voice transcripts.)

== Mission insignia ==

The circular patch is one of the most detailed of the Apollo series. The official [[NASA]] press release said: "The insignia is dominated by the image of [[Apollo]], the [[Greek mythology|Greek]] [[sun]] god. Suspended in space behind the head of Apollo is an [[United States|American]] [[eagle]] of contemporary design, the [[red]] bars of the eagle's wing represent the bars in the [[U.S. flag]]; the three [[white]] [[stars]] symbolize the three astronaut crewmen. The background is deep [[blue]] [[space]] and within it are the [[Moon]], the planet [[Saturn]] and a spiral [[galaxy]] or [[nebula]]. The Moon is partially overlaid by the eagle's wing suggesting that this is a celestial body that man has visited and in that sense conquered. The thrust of the eagle and the gaze of Apollo to the right and toward Saturn and the galaxy is meant to imply that man's goals in space will someday include the planets and perhaps the stars. The colors of the emblem are red, white and blue, the colors of the U.S. flag; with the addition of [[gold]], to symbolize the golden age of [[space flight]] that will begin with this Apollo 17 lunar landing. The Apollo image used in this emblem was the Apollo of Belvedere sculpture now in the Vatican Gallery in [[Rome]]. This emblem was designed by artist Robert T. McCall in collaboration with the astronauts." The insignia is surrounded by a light gray band with names of the crew and the words APOLLO [[XVII]].

== Capsule locations ==

The Command Module ''America'' is currently on display at [[Space Center Houston]] in [[Houston, Texas]].

The Lunar Module ''Challenger'' impacted the Moon 15 December 1972 at 06:50:20.8 UT (1:50 AM EST) 19.96 N, 30.50 E.

== Media ==
{{multi-video start}}

{{multi-video item|filename=Ap17 schmitt falls.ogg|title=Schmitt falls|description=Astronaut [[Harrison Schmitt]] falls while on a moonwalk|format=[[Theora]]}}

{{multi-video item|filename=Ap17 strolling.ogg|title=Schmitt sings|description=[[Harrison Schmitt]] sings ''I was strolling on the Moon one day''|format=[[Theora]]}}

{{multi-video item|filename=Ap17-ascent.ogg|title=Apollo 17's Lunar Module blasts off and leaves the moon|description=|format=[[Theora]]}}

{{multi-video end}}

== Depiction in fiction ==

Portions of the Apollo 17 mission are dramatized in the miniseries ''[[From the Earth to the Moon (miniseries)|From the Earth to the Moon]]'' episode entitled [[From the Earth to the Moon (miniseries)#Episodes|"Le Voyage dans la Lune"]].

Additionally, there have been fictional astronauts in film, literature and television who have been described as "the last man to walk on the moon," implying they were crew members on Apollo 17. One such character was [[Steve Austin (fictional character)|Steve Austin]] in the television series ''[[The Six Million Dollar Man]]''; in a latter episode of the series, Austin's character was asked what space mission he flew on, and he answered, "Apollo 17" (the series first appeared on television in 1973 as a made-for-TV movie, however the novel upon which it was based — ''[[Cyborg (novel)|Cyborg]]'' — was published before the mission and does not make such a reference). Another example is the character of Captain Tanner in the science fiction film ''[[Deep Impact (film)|Deep Impact]]''.

The mission patch for Apollo 17 was used for the mission patch for the NASA space ship Charybdis in an episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" entitled "[[The Royale]]".

== See also ==

* [[Extra-vehicular activity]]
* [[List of spacewalks]]
* [[Splashdown (spacecraft landing)|Splashdown]]
* [[List of artificial objects on the Moon]]
* [[Google Moon]]

== Notes ==
{{reflist}}

== References ==

* [http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/sc-query.html NASA NSSDC Master Catalog]
* [http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo17info.html Apollo 17 Info by NASA]
* [http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4029/Apollo_00a_Cover.htm APOLLO BY THE NUMBERS: A Statistical Reference by Richard W. Orloff (NASA)]
* [http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4209/appb.htm Development of Manned Space Flight, American and Soviet NASA SP-4209]
* [http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4009/cover.htm The Apollo Spacecraft: A Chronology]
* [http://history.nasa.gov/apsr/apsr.htm Apollo Program Summary Report]
* [http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4012/vol3/table2.45.htm Apollo 17 Characteristics - SP-4012 NASA HISTORICAL DATA BOOK]
* [http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/a17.html Apollo 17 entry at Apollo Lunar Surface Journal] - Provides an extensive insight of the mission, along with full transcripts and detailed interviews with the crewmembers.
* Lattimer, Dick (1985). 'All We Did was Fly to the Moon. Whispering Eagle Press. ISBN 0-9611228-0-3.

== External links ==
{{commons|Apollo 17}}

* [http://www.astronautix.com/flights/apollo17.htm Apollo 17 entry in Encyclopedia Astronautica]
* [http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0407/online_extra.html?c=Newsletters&n=2Q04_Insider2&t=internal September 1973 National Geographic Magazine article]
* [http://sourceforge.net/projects/nassp/ Apollo simulation for Orbiter spaceflight sim]
* [http://www.maniacworld.com/Apollo_17_Final_Reflections.htm Apollo 17 - Final Reflections on Apollo] Video as the crew wraps up the final Apollo mission
* [http://moon.google.com Apollo landing Locations at Google Moon]
* [http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/a17.launch.html transcript of lifting off from the Moon]
* [http://moonpans.com/vr Apollo Lunar Surface VR Panoramas] QTVR panoramas
* [http://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/documents/NASA%20CR-146107.pdf Apollo 17 Voice Transcript Pertaining to the Geology of the Landing Site]
* [http://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/missions/apollo/apollo_17/experiments/ Apollo 17 Science Experiments]

{{Apollo program| before=[[Apollo 16]]| after=[[Skylab 1]]

[[Skylab 2]]}}

[[Category:Lunar spacecraft]]
[[Category:Human spaceflights]]
[[Category:Apollo program]]
[[Category:1972 in space exploration]]
[[Category:1972 in the United States]]

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