Gene Cernan | |
|---|---|
 Cernan in 1971 | |
| Born | Eugene Andrew Cernan (1934-03-14)March 14, 1934 |
| Died | January 16, 2017(2017-01-16) (aged 82) |
| Resting place | Texas State Cemetery |
| Education | |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 1 |
| Awards | |
| Space career | |
| NASA astronaut | |
| Rank | Captain,USN |
Time in space | 23d 14h 15m |
| Selection | NASA Group 3 (1963) |
TotalEVAs | 4 |
Total EVA time | 24h 11m |
| Missions | |
Mission insignia |    |
| Retirement | July 1, 1976 |
| Website | Official website |
| Signature | |
 | |
Eugene Andrew Cernan (/ˈsɜːrnən/; March 14, 1934 – January 16, 2017) was an Americanastronaut,naval aviator,electrical engineer,aeronautical engineer, andfighter pilot.
Cernan traveled into space three times and to theMoon twice: as pilot ofGemini 9A in June 1966, as lunar module pilot ofApollo 10 in May 1969, and as commander ofApollo 17 in December 1972, the final Apollolunar landing. He was also a backup crew member ofGemini 12,Apollo 7, andApollo 14. During the Apollo 17 mission, he became the 11th person to walk on the Moon as well as the astronaut with the longest time spent walking on the Moon; he is also the last person to walk on the Moon.
Before becoming an astronaut, Cernan graduated with abachelor of science degree inelectrical engineering fromPurdue University in Indiana, and joined theU.S. Navy through theNaval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC). After flight training, he received his naval aviator wings and served as afighter pilot. In 1963, he received amaster of science degree inaeronautical engineering from the U.S.Naval Postgraduate School. Achieving the rank ofcaptain, he retired from the Navy in 1976.
Cernan was born on March 14, 1934, inChicago, Illinois;[1] he was the son of Andrew George Cernan (1904–1967) and Rose Cernan (née Cihlar; 1898–1991). His father was ofSlovak descent[2] and his mother was ofCzech ancestry. He had one older sister, Dolores Ann (1929–2019).[3][4] Cernan grew up in the Illinois towns ofBellwood andMaywood. He was aBoy Scout and earned the rank ofSecond Class.[5] After attending McKinley Elementary School in Bellwood, and graduating fromProviso Township High School in Maywood in 1952, he studied atPurdue University and served as treasurer of thePhi Gamma Delta fraternity. He was also president of the Quarterdeck Society and theScabbard and Blade, as well as a member of theTau Beta Pi engineering honor society, the military ball committee and the Skull and Crescent leadership honor society.[6] After his sophomore year, he accepted a partial NavyROTC scholarship that required him to serve aboardUSS Roanoke between his junior and senior years. In 1956, Cernan received aBachelor of Science degree inelectrical engineering; his finalGPA was 5.1 out of 6.0.[7]
Cernan was commissioned aU.S. NavyEnsign through theNaval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) at Purdue, and was initially stationed on theUSS Saipan. Cernan changed to active duty and attended flight training atWhiting Field,Florida,Barron Field,Texas,NAS Corpus Christi, Texas, andNAS Memphis,Tennessee.[8]: 29–31 Following flight training on theT-28 Trojan,T-33 Shooting Star, andF9F Panther, Cernan became aNaval Aviator, flyingFJ-4 Fury andA-4 Skyhawk jets in Attack Squadrons126 and113.[8]: 31–33, 38–39 Upon completion of his assignment inNAS Miramar,California, he finished his education in 1963 at the U.S.Naval Postgraduate School with aMaster of Science degree inaeronautical engineering.[9]
During his naval career, Cernan logged more than 5,000 hours of flying time, including 4,800 hours injet aircraft. Cernan also made at least 200 successful landings onaircraft carriers.[9]
In October 1963, NASA selected Cernan as one of thethird group of astronauts to participate in theGemini andApollo space programs.[9]
Cernan was originally selected withThomas Stafford as backup pilot for Gemini 9. When the prime crew ofElliot See andCharles Bassett was killed in thecrash of NASAT-38A "901" (USAF serial 63–8181) atLambert Field,Missouri, on February 28, 1966, the backup crew became the prime crew—the first time in NASA history this happened.[10] Gemini 9A encountered a number of problems; the original target vehicle exploded during launch and the planned docking with a substitute target vehicle was made impossible by the failure of a protective shroud to separate after launch.[10] The crew performed a rendezvous that simulated procedures that would be used in theApollo 10 mission; the first optical rendezvous and a lunar-orbit-abort rendezvous. Cernan performed the second AmericanEVA, the third-ever spacewalk, but overexertion caused by a lack of limb restraints prevented testing of theAstronaut Maneuvering Unit and forced the early termination of the spacewalk.[10] Cernan was also a backup pilot for the Gemini 12 mission.[11]
Cernan was selected as backup lunar module pilot forApollo 7—although that flight carried no lunar module.[12] Standard crew rotation put him in place as the Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 10—the final dress rehearsal mission for the first Apollo lunar landing—on May 18–26, 1969.
During theApollo 10 mission, Cernan and his commander,Tom Stafford, piloted the Lunar ModuleSnoopy in lunar orbit to within 8.5 nautical miles (15.7 km) of the lunar surface, and successfully executed every phase of a lunar landing up to final powered descent. This provided NASA planners with critical knowledge of technical systems and lunar gravitational conditions to enableApollo 11 to land on the Moon two months later. Apollo 10 holds the record for the highest speed attained by any crewed vehicle at 39,897 km/h (24,791 mph)—more than 11 km/s (6.8 mi/s)—during its return from the Moon on May 26, 1969.[11]
Cernan declined the opportunity to walk on the Moon as Lunar Module Pilot ofApollo 16, preferring to risk missing a flight for the opportunity to command his own mission.[13] Cernan moved back into the Apollo rotation as commander of the backup crew of Cernan,Ronald E. Evans, andJoe Engle forApollo 14, putting him in position through normal crew rotation to command his own crew onApollo 17. Escalating budget cutbacks for NASA brought the number of future missions into question. After the Apollo 18 and Apollo 19 missions were cancelled in September 1970, pressure from the scientific community mounted to shiftHarrison Schmitt, the sole professional geologist in the active Apollo roster of astronauts, to the crew of Apollo 17, the final scheduled Apollo mission. In August 1971, NASA named Schmitt as the lunar module pilot for Apollo 17, which meant the original LM pilotJoe Engle lost his chance to walk on the Moon. Cernan fought to keep his crew together; given the choice of flying with Schmitt as LMP or seeing his entire crew removed from Apollo 17, Cernan chose to fly with Schmitt. Cernan eventually came to have a positive evaluation of Schmitt's abilities; he concluded that Schmitt was an outstanding LM pilot while Engle—notwithstanding his outstanding record as an aircraft test pilot—was merely an adequate one.[14]
Cernan's role as commander of Apollo 17 closed out the Apollo program's lunar exploration mission with a number of record-setting achievements. During the three days of Apollo 17's surface activity (11–14 December 1972), Cernan and Schmitt performed three EVAs for a total of about 22 hours of exploration of theTaurus–Littrow valley. Their first EVA alone was more than three times the length astronautsNeil Armstrong andBuzz Aldrin spent outside the LM onApollo 11. During this time, Cernan and Schmitt covered more than 35 km (22 mi; 19 nmi) using theLunar Roving Vehicle and spent a great deal of time collecting geologic samples (including a record 110.4 kg (243 lb; 17.39 st) of samples, the most of any Apollo mission) that would shed light on the Moon's early history. Cernan piloted the rover on its final sortie, recording a maximum speed of 11.2 mph (18.0 km/h; 5.0 m/s), giving him the unofficial lunarland speed record.[15]
As Cernan prepared to climb the ladder for the final time, he spoke these words, currently the last spoken by a human being standing on the lunar surface:[16]
Bob, this is Gene, and I'm on the surface; and, as I take man's last step from the surface, back home for some time to come—but we believe not too long into the future—I'd like to just (say) what I believe history will record: that America's challenge of today has forged man's destiny of tomorrow. And, as we leave the Moon at Taurus–Littrow, we leave as we came and, God willing, as we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind. Godspeed the crew of Apollo 17.
Cernan's status as the last person to walk on the Moon meansPurdue University is thealma mater of both the first person to walk on the Moon (Neil Armstrong) and the most recent. Cernan is one of only three astronauts to travel to the Moon twice, along withJim Lovell andJohn Young. He is also one of onlytwelve people to have walked on the Moon, as well as the only person to have flown in two different Apollo Lunar Modules in space while not docked to theApollo Command and Service Module, both times near the Moon.[citation needed]
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In 1976, Cernan retired from the Navy with the rank ofcaptain and went from NASA into private business, becomingExecutive Vice President of Coral Petroleum Inc. before starting his own company, The Cernan Corporation, in 1981.[9] In 1981 and 1982, Cernan joined Frank Reynolds and Jules Bergman on the extensive ABC coverage of the first 3Space Shuttle launches. Many hours of these ABC broadcasts have been uploaded toYouTube in recent years. From 1987 he was a contributor toABC News and the weekly segment of itsGood Morning America program titled "Breakthrough", which covered health, science, and medicine.[17]
In 1999, with co-authorDonald A. Davis, he published his memoirThe Last Man on the Moon, which is about his naval and NASA career. He is featured in the space exploration documentaryIn the Shadow of the Moon in which he said, "truth needs no defense" and "nobody can take those footsteps I made on the surface of the Moon away from me".[18] Cernan also contributed to thebook of the same name.
Cernan and Neil Armstrong testified beforeU.S. Congress in 2010 in opposition to the cancellation of theConstellation program, which had been initiated during theGeorge W. Bush administration as part of theVision for Space Exploration with the aim of returning humans to the Moon andeventually Mars, but was deemed underfunded and unsustainable by theAugustine Commission in 2009.[19]
Cernan paired his criticism of the cancellation of Constellation with expressions of skepticism aboutCommercial Resupply Services (CRS) andCommercial Crew Development (CCDev), NASA's planned replacements for that program's role in supplying cargo and crew to theInternational Space Station. Such companies, Cernan warned, "do not yet know what they don't know." Cernan's view of commercial space companies—in particularSpaceX, which participates in both programs—underwent a positive shift after being debriefed by SpaceX venture capitalistSteve Jurvetson as part of his effort to obtain the signatures of nine Apollo astronauts on a photograph meant as a gift to SpaceX founderElon Musk to commemorate the first successful SpaceX cargo mission to the ISS in 2012. Eventually, Cernan was won over and signed the photograph; "As I told him these stories of heroic entrepreneurship, I could see his mind turning." Jurvetson wrote; "He found a reconciliation: 'I never read any of this in the news. Why doesn't the press report on this?'"[20]
Cernan gave aeulogy at Armstrong's funeral in 2012.[21][22]
In 2014, Cernan appeared in the documentaryThe Last Man on the Moon, made by British filmmaker Mark Craig and based on Cernan's 1999 memoir of the same title.[23] The film received the Texas Independent Film Award fromHouston Film Critics Society and the Movies for Grownups Award fromAARP The Magazine.[24][25]
Cernan was married twice and had one daughter. His first wife was Barbara Jean Atchley, a flight attendant forContinental Airlines, whom he married in 1961. They had one daughter, Tracy (born in 1963). The couple separated in 1980 and divorced in 1981. They remained friends.[26] His second marriage was to Janis Ellen "Nanna" Cernan (née Jones; 1939–2021), which lasted for nearly 30 years from 1987 until his death. Cernan gained two step-daughters, Kelly and Danielle.[27]
Cernan died in a hospital in Houston on January 16, 2017, at the age of 82.[28] His funeral was held atSt. Martin's Episcopal Church in Houston.[29] He was buried withfull military honors atTexas State Cemetery, the first astronaut to be buried there, in a private service on January 25, 2017.[30][31]
Cernan was a member of several organizations, includingFellow,American Astronautical Society; member,Society of Experimental Test Pilots; member,Tau Beta Pi (National Engineering Society),Sigma Xi (National Science Research Society),Phi Gamma Delta (National Social Fraternity), andThe Explorers Club.[9]
Slovakia: Grand Officer (or 2nd Class) of theOrder of the White Double Cross (September 25, 1994).[35]Cernan, along with nine of his Gemini astronaut colleagues, was inducted into theInternational Space Hall of Fame in 1982.[11][41]
On July 2, 1974, Cernan was a roaster ofDon Rickles onThe Dean Martin Celebrity Roast. At the end of the roast, Rickles—who attended the Apollo 17 launch—paid tribute to Cernan as a "delightful, wonderful, great hero".[42]
In the 1998Primetime Emmy Award-winningHBO miniseriesFrom the Earth to the Moon, Cernan was portrayed byDaniel Hugh Kelly.[43]
Theaudio commentary for theCriterion Collection release of the filmFor All Mankind was recorded by Cernan and directorAl Reinert in 1999.[44]
Cernan was featured in theDiscovery Channel's 2008 documentary miniseriesWhen We Left Earth: The NASA Missions, talking about his involvement and missions as an astronaut.[45]
A popular belief is that Cernan wrote his daughter's initials on a rock on the Moon,Tracy's Rock. The story, and Cernan's relationship with his daughter, was later adapted into "Tracy's Song" by pop-rock bandNo More Kings. The story is inaccurate, as Cernan wrote her initials in the dust, not on a rock. He states in the 2014 documentaryThe Last Man on the Moon[46] that he wrote them in the lunar dust as he left the rover to return to the LM and Earth.[47] The true story of leaving the initials on the lunar surface was prominently mentioned in "The Last Walt", a 2012 episode ofModern Family.[48]
A recording of Cernan's voice during the Apollo 17 mission was sampled byDaft Punk for "Contact", the last track on their 2013 albumRandom Access Memories.[49] Cernan's last words from the lunar surface, along with Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt's recollections, were used by the bandPublic Service Broadcasting for the song "Tomorrow", the final track of their 2015 albumThe Race for Space.[50]
The Apple TV+ showFor All Mankind dramatizes the Moon landings. The fictional main character draws comparisons to and shares similarity with the commander of the Apollo 17 mission, Gene Cernan.[51]
When he was leaving the Moon he reached down and wrote his daughter's initials into the lunar surface.
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