Apollo 17 was the last crewed mission to the Moon. It also set several new records, including longest Apollo mission (12 day s, 13 hours), longest stay on the Moon (3 days, 3 hours), most hours outside the Lunar Module (22 hours, 4 minutes) and largest mass of samples returned (243 lbs.).
In addition to being the first Apollo night launch, it carried the first scientist to explore the Moon - Dr. Harrison H. Schmitt, a geologist. (He was also the LM's pilot.) The mission was a geologist's dream, to say the least. Schmitt and his companion Eugene Cernan landed their craft in a narrow box canyon in the rugged Taurus-Littrow valley area on the south-eastern edge of the Sea of Serenity (Oceanus Serenatatis).
The valley was chosen for its geological interest, as it appeared to hold a wealth of lightly colored aluminum laced soil, which many scientists thought might be from the Moon's origin. In the same area was evidence of volcanic activity and cratering. During one of their EVAs they discovered a small crater they named "Shorty." Inside (and much to their loudly voiced excitement) they found a fine gravel comprised of small orange glass balls from the Moon's interior, which later turned out to be made up of relatively large amounts of lead, sulfur and zinc.
Mission Commander Gene Cernan, who had flown only 9 miles above the Moon during the mission of Apollo 10, was at last able to walk its surface. Sadly, one of his last tasks while there was an extremely unpleasant one for an explorer. As they prepared to re -enter the LM and blast off to rendezvous with the Command Module and the waiting Ronald Evans, Cernan read out loud from a plaque mounted to the LM's lower stage (which would be left on the surface). On it was an image of the Earth between the Moon's two hemispheres and the following text: "Here man completed his first exploration of the Moon, December 1972. May the spirit of peace in which we came be reflected in the lives of all mankind."
One of the greatest adventures in human history had drawn to an end. The massive hulks of the already completed Saturn Vs which would have carried Apollo 18, 19 and 20 now bake in the sun at NASA facilities, mere tourist curiosities.
As the astronauts flew into the blackness in the LM's upper stage, an automatic camera on the rover captured the sight in a lonely goodbye shot.
