Shortly after midnight, 50 years ago this morning, the Apollo 17 mission lifted off from Florida. With Gene Cernan, Harrison Schmitt, and Ron Evans on board, this was NASA's sixth and final spaceflight to the lunar surface.
Cernan and Schmitt spent three days on the Moon, setting records for the longest distance traversed in their rover—7.6 km—and the amount of lunar rocks returned. But today, what the mission is perhaps most remembered for is the fact that it was the last time humans landed on the Moon—or even went beyond low Earth orbit.
Memorably, before he boarded the Lunar Module to blast off from the Moon's surface, Cernan radioed back to Mission Control on Earth. People, he said, would return to the Moon "not too long into the future." Speaking to him much later in life, it was clear from Cernan's frustrations that he did not mean decades into the future.
When he died five years ago, at age 82, Cernan remained the last person to walk on the Moon.
Earlier this year, a British photographer named Andy Saunders published a book titled Apollo Remastered, which showcases 400 photos from the Apollo missions to the Moon. Astronauts took about 20,000 images on Hasselblad cameras during the Apollo program. Saunders has used various editing techniques, including stacking images from 16 mm video film, to create much clearer images from these iconic missions than have been seen before. The results are revealing and beautiful.
To mark the historic launch of Apollo 17, Saunders shared eight high-resolution images from his book with Ars, along with captions. You can click on any of the photos to enlarge them.
The photos
Harrison Schmitt, dressed in his coveralls, has floated through the tunnel, into the Lunar Module for its checkout. He is pointing the Minolta Space Meter (to assess the lighting for the camera settings) back at Ron Evans, who is in the tunnel. Gene Cernan’s portable life support system backpack is near his right elbow.
Schmitt peers over the edge of a 330-foot-wide, 45-foot-deep crater. The boulder and the orange soil he has found are beyond him. The rover tracks up to the rim are visible, as is the orange and, according to Cernan, “very dark bluish” material. Cernan: “From where I am, about 100 meters around the west side of the rim... there’s a lot of orange stuff that goes down—radially down—into the pit of the crater.”
Cernan: “I want to get the Earth... Try that one time, then we’ll give up and get to work... Point it up a little, yeah?” Schmitt: “I don’t know, Gene-o... Let me get over here closer to you... Okay, that might have got it.” Schmitt absolutely got it, resulting in this image of Cernan, the flag, and Earth. Note, Schmitt can be seen in the reflection, on his knees in his efforts to get the right angle. Cernan is also just visible through his visor.
Schmitt is unfolding the solar panels on the Surface Electrical Properties transmitter. A crossed-dipole antenna was laid out with four 115-foot-long wires on a cross pattern of rover tracks that Cernan purposely made. Cernan consults his cuff checklist: “Okay, it says, ‘Take locator photo to LM.’” Coming to the end of the EVA, Cernan: “You want to walk back or ride?” Schmitt: “Oh, I’ll walk back.”
Cernan: “Let’s see if there is any life in this here baby... and judging from the way it’s handling, I think the rear wheels are steering too... What do you see, Jack?” Cernan tests the LRV and steering—each pair of wheels could turn in opposite directions to improve maneuverability. Schmitt: “Come toward me, baby! Looks like it’s moving... Don’t run over me!” Over Cernan’s right shoulder is Bear Mountain, and 4.5 miles in the distance, to the right, is South Massif.
Schmitt and Cernan removed their suits and set up their hammocks for an eight-hour rest period, their last before joining Evans in lunar orbit. Cernan: “I have never seen so much dirt and dust in my whole life. Ever. Ron’s not going to be able to see out of either one of these helmet visors [for his deep-space EVA].” The tired commander’s biomedical sensors are visible under his liquid cooling garment. Helmets and suits are stowed on the ascent engine cover, and the hatch is visible above.
Schmitt: “Ignition!” Cernan: “We’re on our way, Houston!” Evans: “Good to have you all back up here... Man, that Challenger’s a beautiful vehicle!... Oh, I got to get a picture here!” The angular, awkward-looking Lunar Module in the blackness of space. With some enhancement, Commander Cernan is now clearly visible through the window—at the helm, piloting the Moonship from the lunar surface for the last time. Cernan: “Can you see me?” Evans: “Yes, I can see you right in there!”
Upon signal acquisition, on the 66th orbit, the crew were treated to a spectacular crescent Earthrise. Evans: “Houston, America. Looks like we’re with you again... In fact, we know we are, we’ve been taking [your] picture just as we came up!” The photograph was taken near Ritz, an impact crater just beyond the eastern limb of the Moon as viewed from Earth. The wake-up music for the final day in orbit was The Doors’ “Light My Fire,” appropriate for the upcoming trans-Earth injection burn.
And that's all for now. There are more of these wonderful, historical photos in Saunders' book. The insight into the Apollo missions here is tremendous, and the remastering teases out wonderful details. The photo of Cernan offers a great example, with the barest outline of his face now visible in the faceplate, as does the shot showing the extent to which a kneeling Schmitt went to capture just the right photo.
It has been a long time since we've been to the Moon. But soon, with the Artemis program, we will finally go again.
