46 years ago, the last man to walk on the moon returned to Earth

It was December 14, 1972. 46 years later, American astronaut Eugene Cernan is still considered the last man to walk on the moon.

Gene Cernan with an American flag (source: Harrisson Schmitt/NASA)

Eugene Andrew Cernan, known as Gene Cernan, is an American astronaut born on March 14, 1934 in Chicago and died on January 16, 2017 in Houston. He was the commander of the last manned mission on lunar soil, Apollo 17, which concluded the project launched in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy. During this mission, 3 extra vehicular outings took place, with the help of a lunar rover in particular.

Gene Cernan (Source:Wikipedia)

After a 75-hour stay on the moon, the astronauts took off again on the Apollo lunar module lift stage on December 14 at 4:55 p. m. The takeoff is filmed by the camera of the lunar rover whose pointing is remotely controlled from the Houston control centre.

The Apollo 17 Module liftoff (Source:superstarfloraluk)

Discover the history of the most famous photography in history, taken by Apollo 17.