Eugene Andrew Cernan (; March 14, 1934 – January 16, 2017) was an American
astronaut
An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...
,
naval aviator
Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases.
Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...
,
electrical engineer
Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...
,
aeronautical engineer
Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is si ...
, and
fighter pilot
A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...
. During the
Apollo 17
Apollo 17 (December 7–19, 1972) was the final mission of NASA's Apollo program, the most recent time humans have set foot on the Moon or traveled beyond low Earth orbit. Commander Gene Cernan and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt walked on ...
mission, Cernan became the eleventh human being to walk on the Moon. As he re-entered the
Apollo Lunar Module
The Apollo Lunar Module (LM ), originally designated the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM), was the lunar lander spacecraft that was flown between lunar orbit and the Moon's surface during the United States' Apollo program. It was the first crewed ...
after
Harrison Schmitt
Harrison Hagan Schmitt (born July 3, 1935) is an American geologist, retired NASA astronaut, university professor, former U.S. senator from New Mexico, and the most recent living person—and only person without a background in military aviation ...
on their third and final lunar excursion, he remains as of 2022, famously: "The last man on the
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
".
Before becoming an astronaut, Cernan graduated with a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
degree in
electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...
from
Purdue University
Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...
and joined the
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
through the
Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC). After flight training, he received his naval aviator wings and served as a
fighter pilot
A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...
. In 1963, he received a
Master of Science
A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...
degree in
aeronautical engineering
Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: Aeronautics, aeronautical engineering and Astronautics, astronautical engineering. A ...
from the U.S.
Naval Postgraduate School
The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) is a public graduate school operated by the United States Navy and located in Monterey, California.
It offers master’s and doctoral degrees in more than 70 fields of study to the U.S. Armed Forces, DOD ci ...
. Achieving the rank of
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
, he retired from the Navy in 1976.
Cernan traveled into space three times and to the Moon twice: as pilot of
Gemini 9A in June 1966, as lunar module pilot of
Apollo 10
Apollo 10 (May 18–26, 1969) was a human spaceflight, the fourth crewed mission in the United States Apollo program, and the second (after Apollo8) to orbit the Moon. NASA described it as a "dress rehearsal" for the first Moon landing, and ...
in May 1969, and as commander of Apollo 17 in December 1972, the final Apollo
lunar landing
A Moon landing is the arrival of a spacecraft on the surface of the Moon. This includes both crewed and robotic missions. The first human-made object to touch the Moon was the Soviet Union's Luna 2, on 13 September 1959.
The United S ...
. Cernan was also a backup crew member of the
Gemini 12
Gemini 12 (officially Gemini XII) With Gemini IV, NASA changed to Roman numerals for Gemini mission designations. was a 1966 crewed spaceflight in NASA's Project Gemini. It was the 10th and final crewed Gemini flight ( Gemini 1 and Gemini 2 wer ...
,
Apollo 7
Apollo 7 (October 1122, 1968) was the first crewed flight in NASA's Apollo program, and saw the resumption of human spaceflight by the agency after the fire that killed the three Apollo 1 astronauts during a launch rehearsal test on Ja ...
and
Apollo 14
Apollo 14 (January 31, 1971February 9, 1971) was the eighth crewed mission in the United States Apollo program, the third to land on the Moon, and the first to land in the lunar highlands. It was the last of the " H missions", landings at s ...
space missions.
Biography
Early years
Cernan was born on March 14, 1934, in
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
; he was the son of Andrew George Cernan (1904–1967) and Rose Cernan (
''née'' Cihlar; 1898–1991). His father was of
Slovak descent and his mother was of
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus'
Places
* Czech, ...
ancestry. He had one older sister, Dolores Ann (1929–2019). Cernan grew up in the Illinois towns of
Bellwood and
Maywood. He was a
Boy Scout
A Scout (in some countries a Boy Scout, Girl Scout, or Pathfinder) is a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split ...
and earned the rank of
Second Class. After attending McKinley Elementary School in Bellwood, and graduating from
Proviso Township High School in Maywood in 1952, he studied at
Purdue University
Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...
where he became a member of the
Phi Gamma Delta
Phi Gamma Delta (), commonly known as Fiji, is a social fraternity with more than 144 active chapters and 10 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, in 1848. Along with Phi Kappa Psi, Phi ...
fraternity, serving as a treasurer. At Purdue, Cernan was also president of the Quarterdeck Society and the
Scabbard and Blade
Scabbard and Blade (S&B) is a college military honor society founded at the University of Wisconsin in 1904. Although membership is open to Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) cadets and midshipmen of all military services, the society is mod ...
, and a member of the
Phi Eta Sigma
Phi Eta Sigma () is an American freshman honor society. Founded at the University of Illinois on March 22, 1923, it is the oldest and largest freshman honor society and has chartered three hundred and eighty-six chapters throughout the United Stat ...
honor society and
Tau Beta Pi engineering honor society. He was on the military ball committee and was a member of the Skull and Crescent leadership honor society. After his sophomore year, he accepted a partial Navy
ROTC
The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces.
Overview
While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...
scholarship that required him to serve aboard between his junior and senior years. In 1956, Cernan received a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
degree in
electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...
; his final
GPA
Grading in education is the process of applying standardized measurements for varying levels of achievements in a course. Grades can be assigned as letters (usually A through F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), as a percentage, or as a numbe ...
was 5.1 out of 6.0.
Navy service
Cernan was commissioned a
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
Ensign
An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...
through the
Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) at Purdue, and was initially stationed on the . Cernan changed to active duty and attended flying training at
Whiting Field,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
,
Barron Field
Barron Field (Camp Taliaferro Field #2) is a former World War I military airfield, located West-southwest of Everman, Texas. It operated as a training field for the Air Service, United States Army between 1917 until 1921. It was one of thir ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
,
NAS Corpus Christi
Naval Air Station Corpus Christi is a United States Navy naval air base located six miles (10 km) southeast of the central business district (CBD) of Corpus Christi, in Nueces County, Texas.
History
A naval air station for Corpus Christi ...
, Texas, and
NAS Memphis,
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
.
Following flight training on the
T-28 Trojan
The North American Aviation T-28 Trojan is a radial-engine military trainer aircraft manufactured by North American Aviation and used by the United States Air Force and United States Navy beginning in the 1950s. Besides its use as a trainer, ...
,
T-33 Shooting Star
The Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star (or T-Bird) is an American subsonic jet trainer. It was produced by Lockheed and made its first flight in 1948. The T-33 was developed from the Lockheed P-80/F-80 starting as TP-80C/TF-80C in development, then d ...
, and
F9F Panther
The Grumman F9F Panther is one of the United States Navy's first successful aircraft carrier, carrier-based jet fighters, as well as Grumman’s first jet fighter. A single-engined, straight-winged day fighter, it was armed with four Hispano-Su ...
, Cernan became a
Naval Aviator
Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases.
Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...
, flying
FJ-4 Fury and
A-4 Skyhawk
The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a single-seat subsonic carrier-capable light attack aircraft developed for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps in the early 1950s. The delta-winged, single turbojet engined Skyhawk was designed a ...
jets in Attack Squadrons
126 and
113 113 may refer to:
*113 (number), a natural number
*AD 113, a year
* 113 BC, a year
*113 (band), a French hip hop group
* 113 (MBTA bus), Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus route
* 113 (New Jersey bus), Ironbound Garage in Newark and run ...
.
Upon completion of his assignment in
NAS Miramar
Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar) , formerly Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) Miramar and Naval Air Station (NAS) Miramar, is a United States Marine Corps installation that is home to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is the avi ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, he finished his education in 1963 at the U.S.
Naval Postgraduate School
The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) is a public graduate school operated by the United States Navy and located in Monterey, California.
It offers master’s and doctoral degrees in more than 70 fields of study to the U.S. Armed Forces, DOD ci ...
with a
Master of Science
A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...
degree in
aeronautical engineering
Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: Aeronautics, aeronautical engineering and Astronautics, astronautical engineering. A ...
.
[
During his naval career, Cernan logged more than 5,000 hours of flying time, including 4,800 hours in ]jet aircraft
A jet aircraft (or simply jet) is an aircraft (nearly always a fixed-wing aircraft) propelled by jet engines.
Whereas the engines in propeller-powered aircraft generally achieve their maximum efficiency at much lower speeds and altitudes, je ...
. Cernan also made at least 200 successful landings on aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
s.
NASA career
In October 1963, NASA selected Cernan as one of the third group of astronauts to participate in the Gemini
Gemini may refer to:
Space
* Gemini (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac
** Gemini in Chinese astronomy
* Project Gemini, the second U.S. crewed spaceflight program
* Gemini Observatory, consisting of telescopes in the Northern ...
and Apollo
Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...
space programs.[
]
Gemini program
Cernan was originally selected with Thomas Stafford as backup pilot for Gemini 9. When the prime crew of Elliot See
Elliot McKay See Jr. (July 23, 1927 – February 28, 1966) was an American engineer, naval aviator, test pilot and NASA astronaut.
See received an appointment to the United States Merchant Marine Academy in 1945. He graduated in 1949 with ...
and Charles Bassett
Charles Arthur Bassett II (December 30, 1931 – February 28, 1966), (Major (United States), Major, United States Air Force, USAF), was an American electrical engineer and United States Air Force test pilot. He went to Ohio State University f ...
was killed in the crash
Crash or CRASH may refer to:
Common meanings
* Collision, an impact between two or more objects
* Crash (computing), a condition where a program ceases to respond
* Cardiac arrest, a medical condition in which the heart stops beating
* Couch su ...
of NASA T-38A "901" (USAF serial 63–8181) at Lambert Field
St. Louis Lambert International Airport is the primary commercial airport serving metropolitan St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Commonly referred to as Lambert Field or simply Lambert, it is the largest and busiest airport in the state of ...
, Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
, on February 28, 1966, the backup crew became the prime crew—the first time in NASA history this happened. 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.[ The crew, however, performed a rendezvous that simulated procedures that would be used in the ]Apollo 10
Apollo 10 (May 18–26, 1969) was a human spaceflight, the fourth crewed mission in the United States Apollo program, and the second (after Apollo8) to orbit the Moon. NASA described it as a "dress rehearsal" for the first Moon landing, and ...
mission; the first optical rendezvous and a lunar-orbit-abort rendezvous. Cernan performed the second American EVA
Eva or EVA may refer to:
* Eva (name), a feminine given name
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters
* Eva (Dynamite Entertainment), a comic book character by Dynamite Entertainment
* Eva (''Devil May Cry''), Dante's mother in t ...
, the third-ever spacewalk, but overexertion caused by a lack of limb restraints prevented testing of the Astronaut Maneuvering Unit
An astronaut propulsion unit (or astronaut maneuvering unit) is used to move an astronaut relative to the spaceship during a spacewalk. The first astronaut propulsion unit was the Hand-Held Maneuvering Unit (HHMU) used on Gemini 4.
Models
Hand ...
and forced the early termination of the spacewalk.[ Cernan was also a backup pilot for the Gemini 12 mission.]
Apollo program
=Apollo 10
=
Cernan was selected for the lunar module pilot position on the backup crew for Apollo 7
Apollo 7 (October 1122, 1968) was the first crewed flight in NASA's Apollo program, and saw the resumption of human spaceflight by the agency after the fire that killed the three Apollo 1 astronauts during a launch rehearsal test on Ja ...
—although that flight carried no lunar module. 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 the Apollo 10
Apollo 10 (May 18–26, 1969) was a human spaceflight, the fourth crewed mission in the United States Apollo program, and the second (after Apollo8) to orbit the Moon. NASA described it as a "dress rehearsal" for the first Moon landing, and ...
mission, Cernan and his commander, Tom Stafford, piloted the Lunar Module ''Snoopy'' in lunar orbit to within 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 enable Apollo 11
Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, an ...
to land on the Moon two months later. Apollo 10 holds the record for the highest speed attained by any crewed vehicle at during its return from the Moon on May 26, 1969.
=Apollo 17
=
Cernan turned down the opportunity to walk on the Moon as Lunar Module Pilot of Apollo 16
Apollo 16 (April 1627, 1972) was the tenth crewed mission in the United States Apollo space program, administered by NASA, and the fifth and penultimate to land on the Moon. It was the second of Apollo's " J missions", with an extended sta ...
, preferring to risk missing a flight for the opportunity to command his own mission. Cernan moved back into the Apollo rotation as commander of the backup crew of Cernan, Ronald E. Evans, and Joe Engle
Joe Henry Engle (born August 26, 1932) is an American pilot, aeronautical engineer and former NASA astronaut. He was the commander of two Space Shuttle missions including STS-2 in 1981, the program's second orbital flight. He also flew three ...
for Apollo 14
Apollo 14 (January 31, 1971February 9, 1971) was the eighth crewed mission in the United States Apollo program, the third to land on the Moon, and the first to land in the lunar highlands. It was the last of the " H missions", landings at s ...
, putting him in position through normal crew rotation to command his own crew on Apollo 17
Apollo 17 (December 7–19, 1972) was the final mission of NASA's Apollo program, the most recent time humans have set foot on the Moon or traveled beyond low Earth orbit. Commander Gene Cernan and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt walked on ...
. Escalating budget cutbacks for NASA, however, brought the number of future lunar missions into question. After the cancellation of Apollo 15 in its original H class profile and Apollo 19 in September 1970, pressure from the scientific community to shift Harrison Schmitt
Harrison Hagan Schmitt (born July 3, 1935) is an American geologist, retired NASA astronaut, university professor, former U.S. senator from New Mexico, and the most recent living person—and only person without a background in military aviation ...
, the sole professional geologist in the active Apollo roster of astronauts, to the crew of Apollo 17, the final scheduled Apollo mission, mounted. In August 1971, NASA named Schmitt as the lunar module pilot for Apollo 17, which meant the original LM pilot Joe Engle
Joe Henry Engle (born August 26, 1932) is an American pilot, aeronautical engineer and former NASA astronaut. He was the commander of two Space Shuttle missions including STS-2 in 1981, the program's second orbital flight. He also flew three ...
never had the opportunity 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.
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 (Dec. 11–14, 1972), Cernan and Schmitt performed three EVAs for a total of about 22 hours of exploration of the Taurus–Littrow valley
Taurus–Littrow is a Moon, lunar valley located on the Near side of the Moon, near side at the coordinates . It served as the landing site for the United States, American Apollo 17 mission in December 1972, the last crewed mission to the Moon ...
. Their first EVA alone was more than three times the length astronauts Neil Armstrong
Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut and aeronautical engineer who became the first person to walk on the Moon in 1969. He was also a naval aviator, test pilot, and university professor.
...
and Buzz Aldrin
Buzz Aldrin (; born Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr.; January 20, 1930) is an American former astronaut, engineer and fighter pilot. He made three spacewalks as pilot of the 1966 Gemini 12 mission. As the Lunar Module ''Eagle'' pilot on the 1969 A ...
spent outside the LM on Apollo 11
Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, an ...
. During this time Cernan and Schmitt covered more than using the Lunar Roving Vehicle
The Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) is a battery-powered four-wheeled rover used on the Moon in the last three missions of the American Apollo program ( 15, 16, and 17) during 1971 and 1972. It is popularly called the Moon buggy, a play on the t ...
and spent a great deal of time collecting geologic samples (including a record 34 kilograms (75 lb) 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 , giving him the unofficial lunar land speed record
The land speed record (or absolute land speed record) is the highest speed achieved by a person using a vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C ("Special Vehicles") flying start regula ...
.
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:
Cernan's status as the last person to walk on the Moon means Purdue University
Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...
is the '' alma mater'' of both the first person to walk on the Moon—Neil Armstrong
Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut and aeronautical engineer who became the first person to walk on the Moon in 1969. He was also a naval aviator, test pilot, and university professor.
...
—and the most recent. Cernan is one of only three astronauts to travel to the Moon on two occasions; the others being Jim Lovell
James Arthur Lovell Jr. (; born March 25, 1928) is an American retired astronaut, naval aviator, test pilot and mechanical engineer. In 1968, as command module pilot of Apollo 8, he became, with Frank Borman and William Anders, one of th ...
and John Young John Young may refer to:
Academics
* John Young (professor of Greek) (died 1820), Scottish professor of Greek at the University of Glasgow
* John C. Young (college president) (1803–1857), American educator, pastor, and president of Centre Col ...
. He is also one of only twelve people to have walked on the Moon.
Post-NASA activities
In 1976, Cernan retired from the Navy with the rank of captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
and went from NASA into private business, becoming Executive Vice President
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
of Coral Petroleum Inc. before starting his own company, The Cernan Corporation, in 1981. In 1981 and 1982, Cernan joined Frank Reynolds and Jules Bergman on the extensive ABC coverage of the first 3 Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program na ...
launches. Many hours of these ABC broadcasts have been uploaded to YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
in recent years. From 1987 he was a contributor to ABC News
ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
and the weekly segment of its ''Good Morning America
''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...
'' program titled "Breakthrough", which covered health, science, and medicine.
In 1999, with co-author Donald A. Davis
Donald Alan Davis (born October 5, 1939) is an American writer, novelist and former war correspondent. He was a writer of military histories, military thrillers, and, along with Jack Coughlin (author), Jack Coughlin, was co-author of the ''New Yo ...
, he published his memoir ''The Last Man on the Moon,'' which is about his naval and NASA career. He is featured in the space exploration documentary '' In 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". Cernan also contributed to the book of the same name.
Cernan and Neil Armstrong testified before U.S. Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...
in 2010 in opposition to the cancellation of the Constellation program
The Constellation program (abbreviated CxP) was a crewed spaceflight program developed by NASA, the space agency of the United States, from 2005 to 2009. The major goals of the program were "completion of the International Space Station" and a " ...
, which had been initiated during the George W. Bush administration
George W. Bush's tenure as the 43rd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2001, and ended on January 20, 2009. Bush, a Republican from Texas, took office following a narrow victory over Democratic ...
as part of the Vision for Space Exploration
Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to:
Perception Optical perception
* Visual perception, the sense of sight
* Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight
* Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain und ...
with the aim of returning humans to the Moon and eventually Mars, but was deemed underfunded and unsustainable by the Augustine Commission in 2009.
Cernan paired his criticism of the cancellation of Constellation with expressions of skepticism about Commercial Resupply Services
Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) are a series of flights awarded by NASA for the delivery of cargo and supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) on commercially operated spacecraft. The first CRS contracts were signed in 2008 and awarde ...
(CRS) and Commercial Crew Development
Development of the Commercial Crew Program began in the second round of the Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program, which was rescoped from a technology development program for human spaceflight to a competitive development program that woul ...
(CCDev), NASA's planned replacements for that program's role in supplying cargo and crew to the International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...
. Such companies, Cernan warned, "do not yet know what they don't know." Cernan's view of commercial space companies—in particular SpaceX
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) is an American spacecraft manufacturer, launcher, and a satellite communications corporation headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk with the stated goal of ...
, which participates in both programs—underwent a positive shift after being debriefed by SpaceX venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson as part of his effort to obtain the signatures of nine Apollo astronauts on a photograph meant as a gift to SpaceX founder Elon Musk
Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a business magnate and investor. He is the founder, CEO and chief engineer of SpaceX; angel investor, CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; owner and CEO of Twitter, Inc.; founder of The Bori ...
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?'"
Cernan gave a eulogy
A eulogy (from , ''eulogia'', Classical Greek, ''eu'' for "well" or "true", ''logia'' for "words" or "text", together for "praise") is a speech or writing in praise of a person or persons, especially one who recently died or retired, or as a ...
at Armstrong's funeral in 2012.
In 2014, Cernan appeared in the documentary ''The Last Man on the Moon,'' made by British filmmaker Mark Craig and based on Cernan's 1999 memoir of the same title. The film received the Texas Independent Film Award from Houston Film Critics Society
The Houston Film Critics Society is a non-profit film critic unincorporated voluntary organization in Houston, Texas, in the United States. The group presents an annual set of film awards for "extraordinary accomplishment in film" in a ceremony h ...
and the Movies for Grownups Award from ''AARP The Magazine''.
Personal life
Cernan was married twice and had one daughter. His first wife was Barbara Jean Atchley, a flight attendant for Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines, simply known as Continental, was a major United States airline founded in 1934 and eventually headquartered in Houston, Texas. It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers.
Continental started o ...
, 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. 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.
Death
Cernan died in a hospital in Houston on January 16, 2017, at the age of 82. His funeral was held at St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Houston. He was buried with full military honors
A military funeral is a memorial or burial rite given by a country's military for a soldier, sailor, marine or airman who died in battle, a veteran, or other prominent military figures or heads of state. A military funeral may feature guards ...
at Texas State Cemetery
The Texas State Cemetery (TSC) is a cemetery located on about just east of downtown Austin, the capital of the U.S. state of Texas. Originally the burial place of Edward Burleson, Texas Revolutionary general and vice-president of the Republic of ...
, the first astronaut to be buried there, in a private service on January 25, 2017.
Organizations
Cernan was a member of several organizations, including Fellow
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher education ...
, American Astronautical Society
Formed in 1954, the American Astronautical Society (AAS) is an independent scientific and technical group in the United States dedicated to the advancement of space science and space exploration. AAS supports NASA
The National Aerona ...
; member, Society of Experimental Test Pilots
The Society of Experimental Test Pilots is an international organization that seeks to promote air safety and contributes to aeronautical advancement by promoting sound aeronautical design and development; interchanging ideas, thoughts and suggest ...
; member, Tau Beta Pi (National Engineering Society), Sigma Xi
Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is a highly prestigious, non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a junior faculty member and a small group of graduate students in 1886 ...
(National Science Research Society), Phi Gamma Delta
Phi Gamma Delta (), commonly known as Fiji, is a social fraternity with more than 144 active chapters and 10 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, in 1848. Along with Phi Kappa Psi, Phi ...
(National Social Fraternity), and The Explorers Club
The Explorers Club is an American-based international multidisciplinary professional society with the goal of promoting scientific exploration and field study. The club was founded in New York City in 1904, and has served as a meeting point fo ...
.[
]
Awards and honors
* Naval Aviator Astronaut Insignia[
* ]Navy Distinguished Service Medal
The Navy Distinguished Service Medal is a military decoration of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps which was first created in 1919 and is presented to sailors and Marines to recognize distinguished and exceptionally meritoriou ...
, Gold star device in lieu of second award[
* Distinguished Flying Cross][
* ]National Defense Service Medal
The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It is awarded to every member of the US Armed Forces who has served during any one of four sp ...
* NASA Distinguished Service Medal
The NASA Distinguished Service Medal is the highest award that can be bestowed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States. The medal may be presented to any member of the federal government, including both milita ...
[
* ]NASA Exceptional Service Medal
The NASA Exceptional Service Medal is an award granted to U.S. government employees for significant sustained performance characterized by unusual initiative or creative ability that clearly demonstrates substantial improvement in engineering, ae ...
[
* ]Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy
The Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy was established by the National Aeronautic Association (NAA) in 1948 after a trust fund was created in 1936 by Godfrey Lowell Cabot of Boston, a former president of the NAA. It is awarded to a living American ...
, 2007
* U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame
* : Grand Officer (or 2nd Class) of the Order of the White Double Cross
The Order of the White Double Cross ( sk, Rad Bieleho dvojkríža) is the highest state decoration of the Slovak Republic.
The Order was instituted on 1 March 1994 after Slovakia became independent on 1 January 1993. It continues the Czechoslova ...
(September 25, 1994).
* Great American Award, The All-American Boys Chorus
The All-American Boys Chorus started as a small church choir in Orange County, California in 1970 and has grown into a 501(c)(3) non-profit, internationally-touring, non-denominational chorus that fosters creativity and leadership development in ov ...
, 2014.
* Cernan was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum
San Diego Air & Space Museum (SDASM, formerly the San Diego Aerospace Museum) is an aviation and space exploration museum in San Diego, California, United States. The museum is located in Balboa Park and is housed in the former Ford Building, ...
in 2007.
* Orbital ATK announced the naming of its Cygnus CRS OA-8E Cargo Delivery Spacecraft the S.S. Gene Cernan in honor of Cernan in October 2017. The S.S. Gene Cernan successfully launched to the International Space Station on November 12, 2017.
Cernan, along with nine of his Gemini astronaut colleagues, was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame
The New Mexico Museum of Space History is a museum and planetarium complex in Alamogordo, New Mexico dedicated to artifacts and displays related to space flight and the Space Age. It includes the International Space Hall of Fame. The Museum of S ...
in 1982.
In popular culture
On July 2, 1974, Cernan was a roaster of Don Rickles
Donald Jay Rickles (May 8, 1926 – April 6, 2017) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He became known primarily for his insult comedy. His film roles include ''Run Silent, Run Deep'' (1958) with Clark Gable, Carl Reiner's '' Enter La ...
on ''The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast
''The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast'' is a series of television specials hosted by entertainer Dean Martin and airing from 1974 to 1984. For a series of 54 specials and shows, Martin and his friends would "roast" a celebrity. The roasts were patter ...
''. At the end of the roast, Rickles—who attended the Apollo 17 launch—paid tribute to Cernan as a "delightful, wonderful, great hero".
In the 1998 Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
-winning HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
miniseries ''From the Earth to the Moon
''From the Earth to the Moon: A Direct Route in 97 Hours, 20 Minutes'' (french: De la Terre à la Lune, trajet direct en 97 heures 20 minutes) is an 1865 novel by Jules Verne. It tells the story of the Baltimore Gun Club, a post-American Civil W ...
'', Cernan was portrayed by Daniel Hugh Kelly
Daniel Hugh Kelly (born August 10, 1952) is an American stage, film and television actor. He is best known for his role on the 1980s ABC TV series ''Hardcastle and McCormick'' (1983–86) as the ex-con Mark "Skid" McCormick, co-starring with act ...
.
Cernan was featured in the Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...
's 2008 documentary miniseries '' When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions'', talking about his involvement and missions as an astronaut.
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 band No More Kings
No More Kings are the Los Angeles-based musical collaboration of singer/songwriter Pete Mitchell and producer/songwriter Neil Robins. No More Kings' music is known for its frequent references to figures in pop culture,
most notably Johnny Lawre ...
. The story is inaccurate, as Cernan wrote her initials in the dust, not on a rock. He states in the 2014 documentary ''The Last Man on the Moon'' that he wrote them in the lunar dust as he left the rover to return to the LEM and Earth. The true story of leaving the initials on the lunar surface was prominently mentioned in "The Last Walt
"The Last Walt" is the 20th episode of the third season of the American sitcom ''Modern Family'' and the series' 68th episode overall. This episode originally aired on ABC on April 18, 2012. It was written by Dan O'Shannon, Paul Corrigan & Brad W ...
", a 2012 episode of ''Modern Family
''Modern Family'' is an American family sitcom television series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan for the American Broadcasting Company. It ran for 11 seasons, from September 23, 2009, to April 8, 2020. It follows the lives of thr ...
''.
A recording of Cernan's voice during the Apollo 17 mission was sampled by Daft Punk
Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. Widely regarded as one of the most influential acts in dance music history, they achieved popularity in the late 1990s as p ...
for "Contact", the last track on their 2013 album ''Random Access Memories
''Random Access Memories'' is the fourth studio album by the French electronic music, electronic duo Daft Punk, released on 17 May 2013 through Columbia Records. The album pays tribute to late Music history of the United States in the 1970s, 197 ...
''. Cernan's last words from the lunar surface, along with Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt's recollections, were used by the band Public Service Broadcasting
Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...
for the song "Tomorrow", the final track of their 2015 album '' The Race for Space''.
The Apple TV+ show '' For 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.
See also
* List of spaceflight records
Records and firsts in spaceflight are broadly divided into crewed and uncrewed categories. Records involving animal spaceflight have also been noted in earlier experimental flights, typically to establish the feasibility of sending humans to ou ...
* The Astronaut Monument
The Astronaut Monument is a monument commemorating the training of Apollo astronauts in northern Iceland in 1965 and 1967. It is located outside the Exploration Museum in Húsavík, and contains the names of 32 Apollo astronauts who were sent to I ...
, Iceland
* Cernan Earth and Space Center, a public planetarium on the campus of Triton College
Triton College is a public community college in River Grove, Illinois.
History
Junior College District 300 was voted into existence in a referendum in March 1964. In March 1965, a second referendum was passed approving the purchase of an campus ...
in River Grove, Illinois named in Cernan's honor.
References
External links
Interview with Gene Cernan for NOVA series: To the Moon
WGBH Educational Foundation, raw footage, 1998
* ttp://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/C/Cernan.html Cernan at Encyclopedia of Sciencebr>Check-Six.com - The 1971 Crash of Gene Cernan's Helo
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cernan, Eugene
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