Apollo 17

Apollo 17 was the sixth and final successful manned NASA moon mission, as part of the Apollo Project. On the voyage of the command module "America" and the lunar module "Challenger" Apollo 17 was crewed by Eugene A. Cernan, the Commander; Ronald E. Evans, the Command Module Pilot and Harrison H. "Jack" Schmitt, Lunar Module Pilot. Schmitt a geologist by training was the only trained scientist to walk on the moon. Together the crew of Apollo 17 would spend the longest time on the lunar surface (147 hours 48 minutes), return with the largest weight of samples from the moon (approximately 110 kg or 243 pounds). Apollo 17 spent three days on the moon landing at Taurus-Littrow, located on the southeast edge of Mare Serenitatis. Apollo 17 launched from the Kennedy Space Center in the first night launch on December 6, 1972, landing on the moon on December 11, and concluded by returning to earth on 19 December 1972.

NASA plans to return to the moon with Project Constellation aboard Orion EM-2, expected to be launched in 2021, some 49 years after Apollo 17. President Trump is currently proving if Orion EM-2 couldn't launch as early as 2018.