Gene Cernan

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Cernan's path to the Moon began with a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from Purdue University in 1956, followed by service as a naval aviator and fighter pilot. He earned a Master of Science in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in 1963. Selected by NASA in October 1963 as part of the third group of astronauts, he flew Gemini 9A in June 1966, performing the second American EVA and the third-ever spacewalk, though overexertion forced early termination. As Lunar Module pilot on Apollo 10 (May 18–26, 1969), he and Tom Stafford piloted the Lunar Module Snoopy to within 8.5 nautical miles of the lunar surface, executing every phase of a landing except final powered descent. Apollo 10 holds the record for the highest speed attained by any crewed vehicle at 39,897 km/h during its return from the Moon on May 26, 1969.

In Their Own Story

As commander of Apollo 17, Cernan closed out the Apollo program's lunar exploration with record-setting achievements. During three days of surface activity (11–14 December 1972), he and Harrison Schmitt performed three EVAs totaling about 22 hours of exploration in the Taurus–Littrow valley. Their first EVA alone was more than three times the length Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin spent outside the LM on Apollo 11. They covered more than 35 km using the Lunar Roving Vehicle and collected a record 110.4 kg of geologic samples. Cernan piloted the rover on its final sortie, recording a maximum speed of 11.2 mph, giving him the unofficial lunar land speed record. As he prepared to climb the ladder for the final time, he spoke: "Bob, this is Gene, and I'm on the surface; and, 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."

Reader's Guide

Cernan is one of only three astronauts to travel to the Moon twice, along with Jim Lovell and John Young. He is also one of only twelve people to have walked on the Moon, as well as the only person to have flown in two different Apollo Lunar Modules in space while not docked to the Apollo Command and Service Module, both times near the Moon. After retiring from the Navy in 1976 with the rank of captain, he went into private business, becoming Executive Vice President of Coral Petroleum Inc. before starting The Cernan Corporation in 1981. He contributed to ABC News and Good Morning America's segment "Breakthrough" from 1987. In 1999, with co-author Donald A. Davis, he published his memoir *The Last Man on the Moon*. He is featured in the 2007 documentary *In the Shadow of the Moon*, where he said, "truth needs no defense" and "nobody can take those footsteps I made on the surface of the Moon away from me." Cernan and Neil Armstrong testified before U.S. Congress in 2010 in opposition to the cancellation of the Constellation program.

Did You Know?

• Cernan is the only person to have flown in two different Apollo Lunar Modules in space while not docked to the Apollo Command and Service Module, both times near the Moon.
• Apollo 10, with Cernan as Lunar Module pilot, holds the record for the highest speed attained by any crewed vehicle at 39,897 km/h (24,791 mph) during its return from the Moon on May 26, 1969.
• Cernan piloted the Lunar Roving Vehicle on Apollo 17 to a maximum speed of 11.2 mph (18.0 km/h), giving him the unofficial lunar land speed record.
• He and Harrison Schmitt collected a record 110.4 kg (243 lb) of geologic samples during Apollo 17, the most of any Apollo mission.
• Cernan is one of only three astronauts to travel to the Moon twice, along with Jim Lovell and John Young.