At 12:33am EST on 7 December 1972, the final manned lunar mission, Apollo 17, launched from launch pad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center using a Saturn V rocket. Being a J-Series Apollo mission, it lasted 12 days, 13 hours, 51 minutes and 59 seconds with Commander Eugene Cernan, Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans, and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt. The landing site Taurus-Littrow highlands and valley area was chosen due to the suspected presence of rocks both older and newer (due to suspected volcanic activity) than previous Apollo missions. Notable aspects of this mission included the first geologist on the lunar surface (Harrison Schmitt), the most lunar samples returned to Earth (110.4kg), and the longest Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) journey
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A charge for the Lunar Seismic Experiment was deployed, two gravimeter measurements were taken, lunar samples were collected, and various images were taken. Upon arriving at Van Serg at 167:55:10, Schmitt noted that the crater appeared to be a fresh impact crater with a blocky rim. Schmitt at this point was concerned with the damage the rover sustained from the terrain, especially the warped fender (the replacement can be seen in Figure 2). In addition, the SEP was still not functional due to the high temperatures. The astronauts found a few noteworthy samples, including shatter cones and a frothy glass agglutinate. Schmitt later discussed how they were both tired, as their EVA was coming to an end and they had questionable amounts of sleep in the last three days. An example of this was Schmitt using the extension handle to balance and reach down himself to reach the scoop, which was dangerous and could have resulted in him falling. However, their spirits will still high and they were enthusiastic to complete the work, as evidenced when Cernan hopped back to the rover to replace the film in his camera singing, “Hippity-hopping over hill and dale. Dadadadada. Dada. Dada. Dadadada, Dada.” At 166:30:20, Schmitt discovered an unusual light-grey material between three to four inches below the surface. As Schmitt realized Parker was disappointed at …show more content…
Apart from the sampling, the crew also deployed explosive packages, weighing between 57 and 2700 grams for the Lunar Seismic Profile Experiment. This experiment utilized a series of small explosions to determine the structure of the upper kilometre of the lunar crust by measuring the seismic waves with a series of geophones. Schmitt and Cernan noticed that the subfloor was vesicular, with vesicles that were about one centimeter. As Schmitt was trying to collect a rock, he accidentally kicked it off and joked about how this happened often. After they got off the rover, they sarcastically made comments about checking the oil, transmission, and air inside of the tires on the rover, as such maintenance was not required for the rover. The traverse back ended at about 169:16:22 with both astronauts storing the final samples they
A charge for the Lunar Seismic Experiment was deployed, two gravimeter measurements were taken, lunar samples were collected, and various images were taken. Upon arriving at Van Serg at 167:55:10, Schmitt noted that the crater appeared to be a fresh impact crater with a blocky rim. Schmitt at this point was concerned with the damage the rover sustained from the terrain, especially the warped fender (the replacement can be seen in Figure 2). In addition, the SEP was still not functional due to the high temperatures. The astronauts found a few noteworthy samples, including shatter cones and a frothy glass agglutinate. Schmitt later discussed how they were both tired, as their EVA was coming to an end and they had questionable amounts of sleep in the last three days. An example of this was Schmitt using the extension handle to balance and reach down himself to reach the scoop, which was dangerous and could have resulted in him falling. However, their spirits will still high and they were enthusiastic to complete the work, as evidenced when Cernan hopped back to the rover to replace the film in his camera singing, “Hippity-hopping over hill and dale. Dadadadada. Dada. Dada. Dadadada, Dada.” At 166:30:20, Schmitt discovered an unusual light-grey material between three to four inches below the surface. As Schmitt realized Parker was disappointed at …show more content…
Apart from the sampling, the crew also deployed explosive packages, weighing between 57 and 2700 grams for the Lunar Seismic Profile Experiment. This experiment utilized a series of small explosions to determine the structure of the upper kilometre of the lunar crust by measuring the seismic waves with a series of geophones. Schmitt and Cernan noticed that the subfloor was vesicular, with vesicles that were about one centimeter. As Schmitt was trying to collect a rock, he accidentally kicked it off and joked about how this happened often. After they got off the rover, they sarcastically made comments about checking the oil, transmission, and air inside of the tires on the rover, as such maintenance was not required for the rover. The traverse back ended at about 169:16:22 with both astronauts storing the final samples they