In December 1972, the US successfully attempted its last crewed moon landing with Apollo 17, the 11th and final mission of NASA’s Apollo program.
Commander Gene Cernan and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt walked on the Moon, while Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans orbited above.
Launched on December 7, 1972, the mission broke several records for crewed spaceflight, including the longest crewed lunar landing mission (12 days, 14 hours), greatest distance from a spacecraft during an extravehicular activity of any type (7.6 km), longest total duration of lunar-surface extravehicular activities (22 hours, 4 minutes), largest lunar-sample return (approximately 115 kg) and longest time in lunar orbit (6 days, 4 hours).
Since then, NASA has not recreated the magic and now aims to make history by sending astronauts to explore a region near the Moon’s South Pole.
In 2022, Artemis I sent an uncrewed Orion to lunar orbit and back late last year. Artemis II is slated to send four astronauts — three from NASA and one from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) — around the moon in late 2024 or 2025.
Following two Artemis test missions, Artemis III will mark humanity’s first return to the lunar surface in more than 50 years.
