A Look Back at Apollo 17 Moon Landing 40 Years Ago

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Last look at Earthrise, 40 years later



By Alan Boyle

cosmiclog.nbcnews.com-
Forty years ago today, human beings took their last steps on the moon, and had their last look at Earth framed by the lunar horizon. There have been other pictures from the moon since then, of course, but they've all been seen secondhand, based on data sent back by robotic probes. No humans have seen an Earthrise like this one with their own eyes since Apollo 17's crew began their homeward journey on Dec. 14, 1972.

For Andrew Chaikin — author of "A Man on the Moon," the definitive history of the Apollo moon effort — the 40th anniversary of our lunar farewell is a cause for reflection
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I'm 'dating myself' but I remember John Glenn's ride into space and then later, eagerly watched each Apollo moon landing.

Originally there were 10 scheduled Apollo moon landings.  Only 6 made it to the surface of the moon.

All 6 Manned Apollo Moon Landings
Listed names are those who actually walked on the moon.
* Apollo 11 - 20 July, 1969 (Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin)
* Apollo 12 - 19 November, 1969 (Pete Conrad, Alan Bean)
* Apollo 14 - 5 February, 1971 (Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell)
* Apollo 15 - 30 July, 1971 (David Scott, James Irwin)
* Apollo 16 - 20 April, 1972 (John W. Young, Charles Duke)
* Apollo 17 - 11 December, 1972 (Eugene Cernan, Harrison Schmitt)

* Apollo 13 did not land and it took heroic efforts to make it back home. An explosion in one of the oxygen tanks crippled the spacecraft during flight.  The crew were forced to orbit the Moon and return to the Earth without landing. The crew members were Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise.

Apollo 18-20 were cancelled... or were they?   - SW

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