Apollo 17

Apollo 17

Eugene Cernan aboard the Lunar Rover during the first EVA of Apollo 17
Mission type	Manned lunar landing
Operator	NASA
COSPAR ID	CSM: 1972-096A LM: 1972-096C
SATCAT no.	CSM: 6300 LM: 6307
Mission duration	12 days, 13 hours, 51 minutes, 59 seconds
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Apollo CSM-114 Apollo LM-12
Manufacturer	CSM: North American Rockwell LM: Grumman
Launch mass	48,607 kilograms (107,161 lb)
Landing mass	5,500 kilograms (12,120 lb)
Crew
Crew size	3
Members	Eugene A. Cernan Ronald E. Evans Harrison H. Schmitt
Callsign	CSM: America LM: Challenger
EVAs	1 in cislunar space Plus 3 on the lunar surface
EVA duration	1 hour, 5 minutes, 44 seconds Spacewalk to retrieve film cassettes
Start of mission
Launch date	December 7, 1972, 05:33:00 (1972-12-07UTC05:33Z) UTC
Rocket	Saturn V SA-512
Launch site	Kennedy LC-39A
End of mission
Recovered by	USS Ticonderoga
Landing date	December 19, 1972, 19:24:59 (1972-12-19UTC19:25:00Z) UTC
Landing site	South Pacific Ocean 17°53′S 166°07′W / 17.88°S 166.11°W / -17.88; -166.11 (Apollo 17 splashdown)
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Selenocentric
Periselene	26.9 kilometers (14.5 nmi)
Aposelene	109.3 kilometers (59.0 nmi)
Epoch	December 11, 4:04 UTC
Lunar orbiter
Spacecraft component	Command/Service Module
Orbital insertion	December 10, 1972, 19:47:22 UTC
Departed orbit	December 16, 1972, 23:35:09 UTC
Orbits	75
Lunar lander
Spacecraft component	Lunar Module
Landing date	December 11, 1972, 19:54:57 UTC
Return launch	December 14, 1972, 22:54:37 UTC
Landing site	Taurus–Littrow 20°11′27″N 30°46′18″E / 20.19080°N 30.77168°E / 20.19080; 30.77168 (Apollo 17 landing)
Sample mass	110.52 kilograms (243.7 lb)
Surface EVAs	3
EVA duration	22 hours, 3 minutes, 57 seconds First: 7 hours, 11 minutes, 53 seconds Second: 7 hours, 36 minutes, 56 seconds Third: 7 hours, 15 minutes, 8 seconds
Lunar rover
Distance covered	35.74 kilometers (22.21 mi)
Docking with LM
Docking date	December 7, 1972, 09:30:10 UTC
Undocking date	December 11, 1972, 17:20:56 UTC
Docking with LM Ascent Stage
Docking date	December 15, 1972, 01:10:15 UTC
Undocking date	December 15, 1972, 04:51:31 UTC
Payload
Scientific Instrument Module Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package Lunar Roving Vehicle
Mass	SIM: ALSEP: LRV: 463 pounds (210 kg)
Left to right: Schmitt, Cernan (seated), Evans Apollo program ← Apollo 16

Apollo 17 was the final mission of NASA's Apollo program, the enterprise that landed the first humans on the Moon. Launched at 12:33 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on December 7, 1972, with a crew made up of Commander Eugene Cernan, Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans, and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt, it was the last use of Apollo hardware for its original purpose; after Apollo 17, extra Apollo spacecraft were used in the Skylab and Apollo–Soyuz programs.

Apollo 17 was the first night launch of a U.S. human spaceflight and the final manned launch of a Saturn V rocket. It was a "J-type mission" which included three days on the lunar surface, extended scientific capability, and the third Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV). While Evans remained in lunar orbit in the Command/Service Module (CSM), Cernan and Schmitt spent just over three days on the moon in the Taurus–Littrow valley and completed three moonwalks, taking lunar samples and deploying scientific instruments. Evans took scientific measurements and photographs from orbit using a Scientific Instruments Module mounted in the Service Module.