The Last Men on The Moon

Summary

History Daily: Episode Summary – "The Last Men on The Moon"

Introduction

In the episode titled "The Last Men on The Moon," hosted by Lindsey Graham, History Daily delves into the remarkable story of Apollo 17—the final mission of NASA's Apollo program and the last manned lunar landing to date. Released on December 13, 2024, this episode meticulously chronicles the journey of astronaut Harrison "Jack" Schmitt, the first and only professional scientist to walk on the moon, and his mission alongside Commander Gene Cernan and Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans. Through engaging narration and insightful discussions, Graham highlights the significance, challenges, and enduring legacy of Apollo 17.

Background: The Apollo Program and Apollo 17

The Apollo program marked humanity's ambitious quest to explore the moon, beginning with Apollo 11 in 1969. By the time Apollo 17 was launched, it had become clear that budget constraints would halt further manned lunar missions. Nevertheless, Apollo 17 was pivotal not only as the final mission but also for its scientific contributions, primarily through the inclusion of a professional geologist, Jack Schmitt.

Selection and Training of Harrison "Jack" Schmitt"

Jack Schmitt's journey to becoming an astronaut was unconventional. Unlike his predecessors, Schmitt was a civilian geologist with no prior experience piloting aircraft. His selection was part of NASA's initiative to integrate scientists into lunar missions to enhance the scientific output of their explorations.

• Early Life and Training: In winter 1965, Schmitt, operating a T38 jet, became one of the few civilians to fly at supersonic speeds, an essential skill for astronaut training. "Less than 90 seconds after takeoff, he's reached 40,000ft and is cleared to fly at supersonic speed," describes Graham ([05:01]).

• Mission Selection: Initially named the reserve lunar module pilot for Apollo 15, Schmitt's path to Apollo 17 was fraught with cancellations of subsequent missions. "NASA decides that he will be the lunar module pilot for Apollo 17," Graham explains ([07:16]).

Apollo 17 Launch: Overcoming Obstacles

The launch of Apollo 17 was a momentous yet anxious event. On December 6, 1972, amidst immense public anticipation, the mission faced a critical delay when an automatic abort was triggered seconds before liftoff due to a technical glitch. Fortunately, engineers resolved the issue swiftly.

• Countdown and Launch: "Jack Schmitt lies on his back in the command module and listens to the familiar voice from mission control, counting them down to zero" ([07:16]).

• Overcoming the Abort: After a three-hour delay, the launch proceeded successfully. "The rocket ignites in a brilliant flash and night becomes day as the Saturn V slowly clears the tower" ([07:16]).

Moon Landing and Exploration

Apollo 17's lunar module, Challenger, successfully landed in the Taurus-Littrow Valley on December 11, 1972, just 600 feet from the intended target—a textbook precision achieved by Schmitt and Cernan.

• Descent to the Moon: "With a gentle thud, Challenger drops to the moon's surface" ([00:25]).

• First Steps: Commander Gene Cernan made the first steps onto the lunar surface, dedicating them to the mission's success. "Gene is the mission captain, so he has the honor of being the first on the surface" ([14:25]).

Scientific Discoveries and Contributions

As the first professional scientist on the moon, Jack Schmitt's contributions were profound. The mission focused on extensive geological surveys, collecting an unprecedented 70 pounds of lunar samples.

• Lunar Rover Exploration: The use of the lunar rover allowed Schmitt and Cernan to traverse five miles, the maximum distance feasible for their mission parameters. "They explore and collect samples, they bounce over the surface so excited they can't help breaking into song" ([16:26]).

• Discovery of Orange Soil: One of the most significant discoveries was the orange soil at Shorty Crater, indicative of past volcanic activity. "Orange soil. It's the discovery of a lifetime for a geologist" ([16:50]).

• Extended Mission Duration: Apollo 17 set records with 22 hours on the lunar surface, enabling a comprehensive scientific exploration. "By the end of the day, Jack and Gene have spent 22 hours on the lunar surface in total, longer than any astronauts before them" ([19:14]).

Conclusion and Legacy

Apollo 17 marked the end of an era in space exploration. As the mission concluded, Schmitt and Cernan reflected on their achievements and the mission's significance.

• Final Moments on the Moon: Gene Cernan delivered a heartfelt speech, emphasizing peace and hope. "We leave as we came and God willing, as we shall return with peace and hope for all mankind" ([20:41]).

• Return to Earth: The mission safely returned the astronauts to Earth, with Schmitt choosing to leave NASA to pursue his passion for geology. The lunar samples collected continue to inform and inspire scientific research decades later. "The samples he identified and collected during his one trip into space will go on to help change science's understanding of the moon" ([20:55]).

• End of the Apollo Program: Apollo 17 remains a testament to human ingenuity and the spirit of exploration. "It also means that humanity's greatest adventure is drawing to a close" ([14:41]).

Notable Quotes

• Gene Cernan on the moon's landscape: “Oh, man, look at that rock out there. Absolutely incredible." ([02:37])

• Jack Schmitt on preparing lunar experiments: “I was strolling on the moon one day in the very month of December. May. May. When, much to my surprise, a paramount." ([16:26])

• Gene Cernan on dedicating the mission: “As I step off at the surface at Taurus Littrow, we'd like to dedicate the first steps of Apollo 17 to all those who made it possible.” ([14:25])

• Jack Schmitt reflecting on the mission's legacy: “We leave as we came and God willing, as we shall return with peace and hope for all mankind." ([20:41])

Final Thoughts

"The Last Men on The Moon" encapsulates the culmination of NASA's Apollo program, highlighting the extraordinary achievements and personal narratives of those involved. Through the lens of Apollo 17, Lindsey Graham not only recounts a pivotal moment in space history but also underscores the enduring impact of lunar exploration on science and humanity's quest for knowledge.

Credits

• Host: Lindsey Graham
• Audio Editing: Mohammed Shazib
• Written and Researched By: Rob Cromwell
• Edited By: William Simpson
• Executive Producers: William Simpson (Airship) and Pascal Hughes (Noiser)
• Sound Design: Thrum

Transcript

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[Lindsey Graham]

Just after 2:40pm on December 11, 1972, 238,000 miles from Earth. Harrison Jack Schmidt stares intently at the instruments of the Apollo 17 lunar landing module. As the spacecraft, named Challenger descends toward the moon, Jack calls out its altitude and speed. Standing beside him in the cramped module is mission commander Gene Cernan. His eyes are fixed on the window and his hands grip the controls. Apollo 17 is moments away from landing on the moon. Jack is the less experienced of the two astronauts. He's never been to space before. In fact, unlike the other men who have made the journey here before him, he isn't even a pilot. He's a geologist. And Jack hopes to become the first scientist to land on the moon. But he and Gene have to get Challenger down safely first. Their target is the Taurus Littrow Valley. It's been chosen for its fascinating geology, but it's a challenging place to land in. Drift off too far one way and they risk crashing into a mountain. Too far another and they could end up in a giant crater. The lunar lander weighs 16 tons and is notoriously difficult to control. Neil Armstrong overshot the Apollo 11 landing site by more than four miles, and Jack knows if they do the same today, their mission may be over before it begins. He and Gene have trained hard for this moment, though, and as the moon looms ever larger outside their windows, both astronauts remain calm. In just 12 minutes, they've traveled hundreds of miles and descended more than 35,000ft out of lunar orbit. Now the surface is almost almost within touching distance. Jack calls out their descent speed. As they get closer and closer, Gene feathers the controls, using the thrusters to slow the craft down even more. Then the contact light on the console illuminates and they shut down the engines. With a gentle thud, Challenger drops to the moon's surface. Jack and Gene quickly run through their post landing checklist. But Jack is already giddy with excitement and can't help looking out the window.

[Gene Cernan]

Oh, man, look at that rock out there. Absolutely incredible.

[Lindsey Graham]

They've ended up only 600ft from their target site. It may have been a textbook landing, but the real work is just beginning. Jack and Jean are about to begin the most ambitious exploration of the lunar surface ever attempted. For Harris and Jack Schmitt, the stakes of this mission couldn't be higher because he's not only Apollo's first scientist astronaut, he's also its last. Apollo 17 will be the final mission in America's lunar program, and with no idea when or if a scientist will ever return to the moon, Jack knows he needs to make every moment count. He and Commander Gene Cernan will have almost three days on the surface, longer than any mission before. But for Jack, the time will pass all too quickly, and he'll feel like he's only just getting started when he steps outside Challenger for the very last moonwalk of the Apollo program on December 13, 1972.

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[Lindsey Graham]

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[Lindsey Graham]

From Noiser and Airship. I'm Lindsey Graham and this is History Daily. History is made every day on this podcast. Every day, we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world. Today is December 13, 1972. The last men on the moon. It's winter, 1965, above Williams Air Force Base in Arizona, seven years before the flight of Apollo 17. Harrison Jack Schmidt's T38 jet is climbing rapidly. Less than 90 seconds after takeoff, he's reached 40,000ft and is cleared to fly at supersonic speed. He takes a breath and then pushes the throttle. In moments, a sonic boom thunders to the ground below, and Jack has become one of the elite few who have flown faster than the speed of sound. But Jack isn't in the military, and he isn't a pilot. In fact, just six months ago, he had never flown a plane in his life. Jack is a civilian, a geologist, and one of five men selected by NASA for a new initiative. In the four years since Alan Shepard became the first American in space, all astronauts have been military men. But with the Apollo program in full swing, NASA has recognized there should be space for scientists on their missions to the moon. Jack has a degree from Caltech and a PhD from Harvard, and he's desperate to go where no scientist has before. But it's not easy to become an astronaut. By the time he goes supersonic in the skies above Arizona, Jack has already spent months training. But it's not until August 1966 that he finally qualifies as a pilot. For the next few years, though, his biggest contribution to the Apollo program comes on the ground. He trains other astronauts in geology and how to apply it on the moon. Jack is always happy to help out, but what he really wants is a spot on a mission. Then, in March 1970, Jack gets the news he's been waiting for.

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[Lindsey Graham]

First successful moon landing, Jack is named as the reserve lunar module pilot for Apollo 15. Crews work on a rotation, so this means Jack is likely to go to the moon on Apollo 18. And he's elated. It's a momentous day, not just for himself, but for science. Jack's excitement doesn't last long, though. Budget cutbacks have already led to the cancellation of the final planned mission, Apollo 20. Then, in September 1970, missions 18 and 19 are also cut. Suddenly, Jack's place in the rotation is gone. Apollo 17 is now likely to be the last manned moon landing for many decades. And by tradition, the Apollo 17 crew should be the reserve astronauts from Apollo 14. But America's scientific community rallies behind sending Jack instead. They argue that if this is to be the final mission to the moon, there's no point in sending yet another pilot who's taken a few geology classes. It's time to send a geologist who's become a pilot. It's an agonizing wait for Jack as the powers that be weigh their options. But eventually, NASA decides that he will be the lunar module pilot for Apollo 17. A scientist will be landing on the moon after all. It's December 6, 1972, and Kennedy Space center is buzzing with excitement, an estimated half a million people have traveled from all over America to witness the nighttime launch of Apollo 17. Harrison, Jack Schmitt, his commander Gene Cernan, and the command module pilot, Ronald Evans, sit at the top of the 36 story tall Saturn V rocket and wait for blast off. For Jack and Ron, Apollo 17 will be their first trip into space. But even for the more experienced Gene, this is a tense moment. The launch is the riskiest part of any mission. And with millions of pounds of rocket fuel about to be ignited, if anything goes wrong, it will be disastrous. Adrenaline courses through Jack's veins as the countdown enters the final minute. But then, with just 30 seconds left to go, a warning sounds and takeoff is suddenly aborted. Strapped into their seats in the capsule, all Jack, Gene and Ron can do is hope the launch window is open only until 1:31am miss it and the mission will be delayed, possibly even canceled. For the astronauts, it's a frustrating wait. The engineers on the ground take their time. But eventually they establish that this was an automatic abort triggered by a problem they had already fixed. After a nearly three hour delay and with just minutes to spare, the launch is back on. Jack Schmitt lies on his back in the command module and listens to the familiar voice from mission control, counting them down to zero. Then the rocket ignites in a brilliant flash and night becomes day as the Saturn V slowly clears the tower. It is the most spectacular launch of all Apollo missions. Within 10 minutes, Apollo 17 will be over 100 miles up and traveling at more than 7,000 miles per hour. That will make Jack Schmidt a fully fledged astronaut. And soon he will join an even more elite club. He will become a moonwalker.

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[Lindsey Graham]

It's December 7, 1972, 18,000 miles from Earth, a few hours after the launch of Apollo 17. Harrison Jack Schmidt is traveling through space at thousands of miles an hour on his way to becoming the first scientist on the moon. Floating by a window, he gazes back towards Earth, becoming the first human in history to see the entirety of the southern polar ice cap. He's awestruck. An entire hemisphere of the Earth, like a blue marble caught in a sea of black. That marble becomes smaller and smaller as they speed toward the moon, and after two and a half days, command module pilot Ronald Evans brings them into lunar orbit. They are now just 100 miles from their destination. Then, on December 11, Jack and Commander Gene Cernan climb into their lunar landing module Challenger. They leave Ron behind in the command module to begin their trip to the surface of the moon. The landing goes perfectly, and after Completing all their preparation and safety checks, Jack suits up and gets ready to go to work. Gene Cernan opens the door first and the air rushes out of the lunar module. Through this small hatch. All they can see is a bleak landscape of gray and black. Jack's heart rate quickens. He's only moments away from becoming just the 12th person ever to set foot on the moon. But Gene is the mission captain, so he has the honor of being the first on the surface.

[Gene Cernan]

I'm on the footpad in Houston. As I step off at the surface at Taurus Littrow, we'd like to dedicate the first steps of Apollo 17 to all those who made it possible.

[Lindsey Graham]

For everyone involved, this is a bittersweet moment. While it marks the sixth successful moon landing of the Apollo program, it also means that humanity's greatest adventure is drawing to a close. Jack soon joins Gene on the surface.

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And he experiences a brief moment of.

[Lindsey Graham]

Wonder as his eyes search the vast, empty space. The ashen landscape around him stretches far away towards mountains in the distance. And beyond them, floating in the sky, he can see home. The sight catches Jack short for a moment. Then he shakes it off. Because he knows they have just a few days on the surface of the moon and a lot to do. He and Gene get straight to work. Their first moonwalk is seven hours long. Mostly it's the hard labor of preparing their experiments for later in the mission and readying the lunar roving vehicle or moon buggy for action. By the time they've finished, Jack and Jean are exhausted and return to Challenger for some well earned rest. Because day two promises much more. The astronauts wake the next morning to the strains of Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries crackling over the radio. It's the anthem of Jack's alma mater, Caltech Mission Control's way of inspiring him ahead of another challenging moonwalk. But Jack doesn't need any extra pumping up. This is the most exciting day of his career in geology. He and Gene set out in the lunar rover and drive almost five miles from the lander. This is the absolute limit of their reach. Any further and they would be unable to return to safety on foot before running out oxygen. But whatever the danger, the spectacular sight that awaits them is worth the risk. As they explore and collect samples, they bounce over the surface so excited they can't help breaking into song.

[Jack Schmitt]

I was strolling on the moon one day in the very month of December. May. May. When, much to my surprise, a paramount.

[Lindsey Graham]

But once the singing has stopped, Jack gets to experience the joy that only geology can provide. Stepping off the rover at another crater, Jack has gone only a few steps before he spots something that looks out of place, something no other crew has seen on the moon before. Orange soil. It's the discovery of a lifetime for a geologist. These glassy orange beads of soil are a major indicator of volcanic activity. He and Gene work quickly to collect a wide variety of samples, and when they finally return to Challenger, they are carrying over 70 pounds of rocks and have been on the move for seven hours and 37 minutes. Every record for moon exploration has already been shattered by Apollo 17, but Jack and Gene will still have only one day left and one last chance to uncover more of the moon's secrets before bidding farewell to Earth's nearest neighbor for the final time.

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[Lindsey Graham]

It's 5:25pm on December 13, 1972, two days after Apollo 17 landed on the moon. Astronauts Harrison Jack Schmitt and Gene Cernan hold tight as their moon buggy accelerates across the lunar surface, kicking up dust. The men are glad to be sitting down for a change. The relentless pace is catching up with them Both. But Jack knows there's still little time to rest. It will be years, perhaps decades, before another geologist has the opportunity to explore the lunar surface. So today, more than ever, he must make every minute count. As they ride across the lunar surface, Jack requests stops whenever he sees something interesting, unusual or out of place. To Gene, this is a largely unremarkable and uniform gray landscape. But to Jack, it's a collage of fascinating different rock types. They gather as many samples as they can, determined to leave with their lunar module Challenger loaded to capacity. And by the end of the day, Jack and Gene have spent 22 hours on the lunar surface in total, longer than any astronauts before them. Still, Jack is sad to leave. As he begins readying Challenger for its ascent to the orbiting command module, Gene delivers a speech to mark the end of the Apollo program.

[Jack Schmitt]

We leave as we came and God willing, as we shall return with peace and hope for all mankind.

[Lindsey Graham]

With that, Gene climbs back inside the lunar module. And after a few hours rest, Challenger then blasts off from the moon. Jack and Jean are reunited with Ronald Evans in the command module, which has been orbiting the moon the entire time that Jack and Jean has been on the surface, carefully storing their many samples of moon rock. Jack, Gene and Ron then head home. After the record breaking flight of Apollo 17, Jack will leave NASA and return to more earthbound geology. But the samples he identified and collected during his one trip into space will go on to help change science's understanding of the moon, its history and formation. And as of late 2022, scientists will still be unsealing and examining the finds from Apollo 17. Learning yet more from the only geologist ever to set foot on another world, astronaut Jack Schmitt, who began the final moonwalk in history to date on December 13, 1972. Next on History Daily, December 16, 1905. Teams from Wales and the AZ of yet undefeated New Zealand clash in rugby union's match of the century. From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily. Hosted, edited and executive produced by me, Lindsey Graham. Audio editing by Mohammed Shazib Sound design.

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By Molly Bach Music by Thrum.

[Lindsey Graham]

This episode is written and researched by Rob Cromwell. Edited by William Simpson. Executive producers are William Simpson for Airship and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.