December 11, 2017 - Last One Off
Last One Off The highlight of the last human spaceflight to the Moon occurred forty-five years ago this week, with the lunar landing of Apollo 17. After a four-day journey to the Moon, astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt descended to the lunar surface while crewmate Ronald Evans remained in lunar orbit. Schmitt, the only professional geologist to walk on the Moon, and Cernan landed in the Taurus-Littrow highlands region, an area that offered a unique combination of old and young geologic material. The pair spent three days on the Moon, traveled 36 km (22 mi) in their Lunar Roving Vehicle, and collected over 110 kg (240 lbs) of lunar samples. Cernan, who has the honor of being the last human to stand on the Moon, is seen here at the start of Apollo 17’s third and final EVA.
Image credit: NASA
Weekly Calendar
December 11-17, 2017
Holidays - Sky Events - Space History
Monday 11
1863: Annie Jump Cannon born
1972: Apollo 17 lands on Moon
1993: Sotheby’s holds first auction of Soviet space hardware & artifacts
Tuesday 12
Hanukkah begins at sunset
Mercury in inferior conjunction
1961: OSCAR 1 launched, first amateur radio satellite
1970: Italian ground crew becomes first to launch satellite for America, Explorer 42
2017: North Korea launches first satellite, KMS 3-2
Wednesday 13
Mars 4° south of Moon
Geminid meteor shower
2001: Final drop test of the X-38 Crew Return Vehicle prototype
Thursday 14
Jupiter 4° south of Moon
Vesta 0.2° north of Moon
Geminid meteor shower
1546: Tycho Brahe born
1962: Mariner 2 first planet flyby (Venus)
1972: Apollo 17 astronaut Gene Cernan becomes last human to walk on Moon
2013: Chang'e-3 spacecraft lands on Moon, deploys Yutu rover
Friday 15
1965: Gemini VI launched
1970: Venera 7 makes first landing on Venus
1984: Vega 1 launched to study Venus and Halley’s Comet
2003: National Air & Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center opens
2010: Soyuz TMA-20 launched carrying ISS Expedition 26/27 crew
2015: Soyuz TMA-19M launched carrying ISS Expedition 46/47 crew
2017: SpaceX CRS-13 launched, first flight to ISS of previously flown orbital booster and Dragon capsule
Saturday 16
1857: E. E. Barnard born
1965: Pioneer 6 launched
1976: Last two Saturn V moon rockets donated to museums
Sunday 17
1903: First powered flight, by Orville Wright
1979: First successful test of all three Space Shuttle main engines
2012: GRAIL A & B spacecraft impact Moon
2017: Soyuz MS-07 launched carrying ISS Expedition 54/55 crew