On This Day In 1972, Apollo 17 Landed On The Moon. No Human Has Been Back In 42 Years. At 2:55pm

    On this day in 1972, Apollo 17 landed on the moon. No human has been back in 42 years. At 2:55pm EST on December 11th, 1972, soon after undocking from Ron Evans and the command module, Harrison Schmitt and Eugene Cernan safely landed on the lunar surface. Apollo 17, as it turns out, represents the last time human beings have not only ventured to the Moon, but have left the confines of low-Earth Orbit.

Schmitt and Cerman clocked in more hours (22 hours, 3 minutes, 57 seconds) exploring the moon than any other previous mission, and traveled more than 22 miles. Apollo 17 consisted of three EVAs, and the Taurus-Littrow landing site provided nearly 244 pounds of moon rocks and other lunar samples to be analyzed upon returning home.  Eugene Cernan, the commander of Apollo 17, spent the last moments of the transcendent Apollo program alone on the Moon’s surface, and while he climbed the ladder and took one final look back, he expressed his thoughts: "…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." If you feel that it has been far too long since we humans have set foot on our nearest celestial neighbor, you should contact your elected officials and express your desire for us to go back. www.penny4nasa.org/take-action