Apollo 17 Concludes: Moon Landing Era Ends with Congressional Address

The crew of Apollo 17 addressed a joint session of Congress on January 30, 1973, after completing the final manned mission to the Moon, closing the Apollo program that had landed twelve Americans on the lunar surface over three years. Commander Eugene Cernan, Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt, and Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans delivered remarks that carried the weight of a farewell. Schmitt was the only professional scientist to walk on the Moon, a geologist who had lobbied NASA for years to include a trained researcher on a lunar mission rather than relying solely on test pilots. During their three days on the lunar surface in December 1972, Cernan and Schmitt conducted three extravehicular activities totaling over twenty-two hours, drove the Lunar Roving Vehicle over thirty-five kilometers, and collected 243 pounds of geological samples, the largest haul of any Apollo mission. Their exploration of the Taurus-Littrow valley produced evidence of ancient volcanic activity and retrieved the oldest rock samples brought back from the Moon. Schmitt's discovery of orange soil near Shorty Crater provided evidence of volcanic glass deposits that revealed the Moon's geological complexity. The mission's scientific productivity vindicated the argument that trained scientists could contribute something to lunar exploration that pilots could not. No human has returned to the Moon since Cernan stepped off the surface on December 14, 1972, making the Apollo 17 congressional address the last first-person account of lunar exploration for over fifty years. Cernan died in January 2017 still holding the distinction of being the last person to walk on the Moon. NASA's Artemis program aims to return astronauts to the lunar surface, but as of the mid-2020s, the record remains unbroken.