NASA

The Apollo program’s sixth human landing on the moon ended an epic chapter in space exploration. A little more than three years after Neil Armstrong took mankind’s first steps on the moon, Apollo 17 astronauts left the last footprints on the lunar surface in December of 1972. Apollo 17 was the final mission of NASA’s Apollo program, the most recent time humans have set foot on the Moon or traveled beyond low Earth orbit.

Why Was Apollo 17 the Last Mission to the Moon?

Apollo 17 became the last manned mission to the Moon, for an indefinite amount of time. The main reason for this was money. The cost of getting to the Moon was, ironically, astronomical.

What Happened on the Apollo 17 Mission?

The crew collected the oldest known unshocked lunar rock, which suggests that the Moon had a dynamo-generated magnetic field in its past. They also obtained samples of “orange soil” containing volcanic glass from an explosive eruptionm, as well as deploying scientific experiments.

Who Was the Last Human on the Moon?

During the Apollo 17 mission, Cernan became the eleventh human being to walk on the Moon. As he re-entered the Apollo Lunar Module after Harrison Schmitt on their third and final lunar excursion, he remains as of 2022, famously: “The last man on the Moon”.

Is the Man on the Moon Still Alive?

Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin were the first of 12 human beings to walk on the Moon. Four of America’s moonwalkers are still alive: Aldrin (Apollo 11), David Scott (Apollo 15), Charles Duke (Apollo 16), and Harrison Schmitt (Apollo 17).

What Went Wrong for Apollo 17?

A minor technical error, due to a tank not being pressurized when expected, held up launch by almost 3 hours. But once the error was fixed, the crew lifted off on Dec. 7, 1972.

Which Apollo was a failure?Apollo 13 (April 11–17, 1970) was the seventh crewed mission in the Apollo space program and the third meant to land on the Moon. The craft was launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 11, 1970, but the lunar landing was aborted after an oxygen tank in the service module (SM) failed two days into the mission.

How Did Apollo 11 Almost Fail?

During the nail biting 12.5 minute descent from lunar orbit, the LM’s onboard computer (most critically needed during landing) shut down and recycled 5 times due to an erroneous checklist that had the crew turn on their ship’s radar too early resulting in multiple data overloads.

How Did Apollo 13 Get Lost?

Apollo 13 was NASA’s third moon-landing mission, but the astronauts never made it to the lunar surface. During the mission’s dramatic series of events, an oxygen tank explosion almost 56 hours into the flight forced the crew to abandon all thoughts of reaching the moon.

When Did Russia Land on the Moon?

The very first nation to reach the surface of the moon was the USSR (Russia), whose unmanned spacecraft Luna 2 impacted the moon’ surface on 12 September 1959. While Luna 2 was the first probe to land on the moon, it had been designed to crash-land into the surface (a “hard landing”) rather than conduct a soft landing.

How Was Apollo 17 Filmed Leaving the Moon?

For the last three missions, Apollo 15, 16, and 17, those were recorded from the TV camera on the lunar rover and used video transmission. No film and no processing was involved.

Why Was Apollo 17 the Last?

Apollo 17 became the last manned mission to the Moon, for an indefinite amount of time. The main reason for this was money. The cost of getting to the Moon was, ironically, astronomical.

Featured Photo by NASA on Unsplash 

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