Celebrate 50 Year Anniversary of Apollo 17
As spotlights play on the rocket and launch pad at dusk, the last moon shot, Apollo 17, is pictured here awaiting its December 1972 night launch. Image credit: NASA
November 28, 2022 – Titusville is in the heart of the Space Coast and that means we are always looking up and forward. NASA’s Artemis 1 spacecraft recently set a record by traveling farther beyond Earth than any previous craft designed to carry astronauts.
That’s exciting news and as NASA prepares to return to the moon it seems to be a great time to look back, to the final mission of the Apollo program and the many ways to celebrate the upcoming anniversary of the launch of the Saturn V on Dec. 7, 1972.
Apollo 17 was unique. The sixth and final time where humans walked on the moon, this was the first time that a scientist made that journey.
Harrison H. Schmitt was a geologist who had been part of the backup crew for Apollo 15. On Apollo 17, he served as pilot of the lunar module, “Challenger.” Eugene A. Cernan was commander and Ronald E. Evans piloted the command module, “America.”
Apollo 17 mission commander Eugene A. Cernan makes a short checkout of the Lunar Roving Vehicle during the early part of the first Apollo 17 extravehicular activity at the Taurus-Littrow landing site. Image Credit: NASA
On December 11, 1972, as Evans continued orbiting the Moon, Cernan and Schmitt flew Challenger to a spot on the southeastern rim of Mare Serenitatis (the Sea of Serenity) between massive units of the southwestern Taurus Mountains south of Littrow Crater. Known as the Taurus-Littrow site, it was a flat-floored valley in a broken mountain chain. They touched down within 650 feet (200 meters) of the targeted landing point.
The mission collected hundreds of pounds of samples to return to Earth. Among their haul was a sample believed to be at least 4.2 billion years old that offered evidence that at one time, the Moon, like Earth, had a magnetic field generated by a dynamo at its core.
They remained on the lunar surface for 75 hours, the longest visit yet. With the help of their rover, they clocked 22 hours of EVA time during which they traveled more than 22 miles (about 36 kilometers).
Cernan took humankind’s final (to date) step off the Moon at 5:40 UT on December 14.
Source: In Depth | Apollo 17 – NASA Solar System Exploration
View of the Earth as seen by the Apollo 17 crew. Image Credit: NASA
There are several places around Titusville where you can celebrate this massive achievement and get ready as more astronauts prepare to return to our closest celestial neighbor.
Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is celebrating the entire Apollo Program’s 50th anniversaries, with December 7th being the anniversary of the launch of Apollo 17. For guests visiting on this historic launch date, the Complex is handing out Apollo 17 Mission Commemorative Card Sets. Each pack contains mission-specific facts and includes a minimum of five cards depending on the mission.
Visitors can also take the bus to the Apollo/Saturn V Center to get up close to the Apollo Program. There, they can experience what an Apollo launch was like, walk under a massive Saturn V Moon rocket, touch a Moon rock and more.
Another place to celebrate the anniversary is the American Space Museum, 308 Pine Street, Titusville. This is as real as it gets, with galleries filled with items that have been donated by individuals, astronauts, space workers, NASA, and NASA contractor companies. Some of these artifacts have flown in space. And the museum also has actual Space Shuttle Launch Control Center consoles, Air Force Launch Pad 36A consoles, and a Pad 16 Launch Sequencer. Many days you may find a man or woman who worked on one of the many space missions who are always happy to chat about their adventures.
Close to Downtown Titusville and only 15 miles directly across from the launch pads, Space View Park is the first and only park in America that honors astronauts and the men and women who helped America lead the world in space exploration. Space View Park is located at 8 Broad St, Titusville. A highlight is the opportunity to compare your handprints to those of Mercury astronauts and to look through the lists of the people involved with exploring the heavens. Maybe you’ll find someone you know. It’s also a great place to watch rockets launch from over the water of the lagoon.