On this day in 1972, the Ascent Stage of the Apollo 17 Lunar Module Challenger lifted off from the landing site in the Taurus-Littrow Valley, The Moon. Onboard were Mission Commander Eugene A. Cernan (above) and the LM Pilot, Harrison H. Schmitt. The Command Module was piloted by Ronald Evans. Cernan and Schmitt had been on the surface of the Moon for 3 days, 2 hours, 59 minutes, 40 seconds. During that time they made three excursions outside the lunar lander, totaling 22 hours, 3 minutes 57 seconds. Apollo 17 was the last manned mission to the Moon in the Twentieth Century with Cernan as the last man to stand on the surface of the Moon. Apollo 17 was the first mission to have no one on board who had been a test pilot. X-15 test pilot Joe Engle lost the lunar module pilot assignment to Schmitt, a geologist.
More details at Apollo 17
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