Apollo 17, the final manned mission to the moon and the first night launch of a U.S. manned spacecraft, lifted off from Cape Canaveral on this date in 1972. Astronauts Eugene Cernan, Ronald Evans, and Harrison Schmitt spent twelve days in space, three of which were spent on the surface of the moon. The crew conducted a number of unique scientific experiments while on the moon’s surface to help scientists better understand its properties. All three astronauts landed safely back on earth on December 19. Cernan and Schmitt have the distinction of being the last humans on the surface of the moon.
~Florida Historical Society
