The short answer to When was the last trip to the moon? The last crewed mission to the Moon was Apollo 17, which took place in December 1972. This mission marked the end of NASA’s Apollo program, an ambitious project that had successfully placed humans on the lunar surface for the first time in history.
Apollo 17 was launched on December 7, 1972, from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew consisted of Commander Eugene Cernan, Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans, and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt, the latter being the first and only professional geologist to walk on the Moon. Their spacecraft consisted of a command module named “America” and a lunar module named “Challenger.”
The mission was notable for several reasons. It holds the record for the longest moon landing, the longest total moonwalks, the largest lunar sample, and the longest time in lunar orbit. Cernan and Schmitt spent a total of about 22 hours on the lunar surface in the Taurus-Littrow valley, conducting three separate extravehicular activities (EVAs), or moonwalks, collecting lunar samples, and taking scientific measurements.
One of the most significant contributions of Apollo 17 was the collection of a diverse set of lunar samples. These samples have provided invaluable insights into the geological history of the Moon and have continued to be a source of scientific data decades after the mission.
Apollo 17’s journey back to Earth was smooth, and the mission concluded with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on December 19, 1972. As Eugene Cernan left the Moon, he spoke profound words that continue to resonate: “We leave as we came, and, God willing, as we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind.”
Since Apollo 17, no humans have returned to the Moon, making Cernan the last person to walk on its surface. The mission represents not only a technical and scientific achievement but also a moment of unity and exploration that stands as a pinnacle in human space exploration. It remains a testament to the possibilities of human endeavor and the spirit of discovery.
