When was apollo 17 launch

Many questions about lunar science were answered during the intensive activity of the Apollo missions, but many more remain to be answered. Some of the unanswered questions will be answered in the future from data already returned but as yet not fully analyzed, and some will have to wait for data yet to be returned from instruments already in place on the lunar surface. Still other questions must await further exploration. The basic objective of the Apollo 17 mission was to sample basin-rim highland material and adjacent mare material and investigate the geological evolutionary relationship between these two major units.

In addition to achieving this general geological objective, it was also possible to measure directly the thermal neutron flux in the regolith, to explore geophysically the subsurface structure of the valley floor, to determine the constituents of the lunar atmosphere and observe their variations during the lunar day and night, and to explore even more of the lunar surface remotely from orbit.

Numerous individual investigations of surface and spatial features have been performed based on the Apollo 17 crew orbital observations and panoramic and metric camera photographs.

The scope of these investigations have ranged from studies of the structure of individual craters to studies of the sequences of mare stratigraphy and mare ridges to studies of the solar corona and zodiacal light. The Lunar Module Challenger The lunar module was a two-stage vehicle designed for space operations near and on the Moon. The lunar module stood 7 meters high and was 9. The ascent and descent stages of the LM operated as a unit until staging, when the ascent stage functioned as a single spacecraft for rendezvous and docking with the command module CM.

The on-orbit dry mass of the LM was kilograms. Subscribe Sign up to receive our newsletter and digital communications about our programs, exhibits, special discount offers and more!

Space in your inbox. Privacy Policy. Launch day was bright and warm; the temperature was in the mids at midafternoon. All looked well for the last Apollo mission until 30 seconds before launch, when the automatic sequencer - the oldest and most reliable piece of automation at the launch complex - shut the system down. The first launch delay in the Apollo program caused by failure of equipment amounted to 2 hours and 40 minutes while Cape and Marshall Space Flight Center engineers worked around the malfunction.

At a. Flight controllers made up the lost time during the translunar coast. America and Challenger entered lunar orbit on schedule and all preparations for landing went smoothly. After the two spacecraft separated, Cernan and Schmitt took a spectacular photograph of their landing site. Three hours later Cernan powered up Challenger for its descent. It touched down within meters feet of its targeted landing point amid a field of craters at 3: 15 p. EST on December For the next 75 hours Cernan and Schmitt conducted the longest, and in many ways the most productive, lunar exploration of the Apollo program.

During three trips from their base they laid out the surface experiments, drove the lunar rover about 36 kilometers 22 miles in all, ranging as far as 7. Like their predecessors, Cernan and Schmitt were somewhat constrained by the preplanned sequence of activity. Still, before they left the lunar module and while unloading the Rover and the surface experiments, Schmitt found time to give Houston's back-room scientists both large- and small-scale descriptions of the landing area and the surface under his feet.

Schmitt found the environment in the landing area "superb" for observation: the lighting was excellent and the rock surfaces generally clean, and he found little difficulty in distinguishing mineralogical and textural differences. For the most part he based his decisions on taking samples on visually detectable differences or similarities. Besides collecting and documenting samples, on their traverses the explorers laid out explosive charges for a seismic profiling experiment the charges would be set off after they left , took readings on a portable gravity meter at various points along the route, and set up an instrument to measure electrical properties of the lunar surface.

At the site for the surface experiments package they drilled two 2. The first excursion was largely taken up by these chores. After an overnight rest and a discussion with Houston concerning plans for sampling, Cernan and Schmitt set out on their second trip to collect specimens from boulders along the lower slopes of the South Massif and to sample the lighter-colored soil that overlay the western part of the valley.

It was a long trip - an hour by rover to the first major sampling stop - and would stretch their life-support systems almost to the limit.

The last couple of kilometers up the slope taxed the rover, too, but it brought them to their objective in fine style. Schmitt took samples from three boulders which, as best he could tell, had come from layers visible farther up the South Massif. The obviously interesting features of their first site prompted Houston to lengthen their stay there and cut some time from later stops.

On their way back they stopped to take an unscheduled reading on the traverse gravimeter and sampled soil at a couple of crater rims, one of which drew considerable attention. During routine examination of the surface around the crater called "Shorty," Schmitt suddenly called out, "Oh, hey - wait a minute -.

There is orange soil! It really is. While Houston kept reminding them they were almost at the limits of their walk-back capability - time was running out - they dug a trench, took a core sample and several scoop samples, and took photographs. Then they mounted the rover to head back to Challenger. Schmitt talked about his discovery all the way back. The last sampling trip of the Apollo program was a traverse to the foot of the North Massif, where they found two large boulders that had obviously rolled down from outcrops higher on the mountain; their tracks were visible in the soft soil.

After covering 12 kilometers 7. Schmitt picked up a symbolic rock sample in honor of a group of foreign students touring the United States; it would be divided up to provide samples for each country represented.

Then Ceman unveiled a plaque on Challenger's landing strut, which commemorated the completion of the first exploration of the moon by humans. Then he made some final dedicatory remarks: "This is our commemoration that will be here until someone like us, until some of you who are out there, who are the promise of the future, come back to read it again and to further the exploration and the meaning of Apollo.

Cernan closed out the surface activity with the comment that "I believe history will record that America's challenge of today has forged man's destiny of tomorrow. Next day, December 14, they blasted off to join America in lunar orbit. As television audiences on earth watched, the rover TV camera, directed from Houston, followed their ascent stage until it was out of sight, then slowly scanned the now-deserted lunar surface.

The awareness that no living person was around made the scene all the more impressive. It was almost possible to hear the silence. After hooking up with the moon-circling command module, Schmitt and Cernan transferred their samples and data. America still had a day's work to do, completing the photographic and remote-sensing work that Ron Evans had been doing while his crewmates were on the surface.

Apollo 17's astronauts spent a record 22 hours performing extravehicular activities on the moon. The astronauts drove about 21 miles 34 kilometers in the lunar rover and brought back kilograms lbs. The 50th anniversary of Apollo 17 is in December of While this crew was the last one so far to have visited the moon , NASA plans more lunar trips in the coming decade.

The administration of President Donald Trump has directed the agency to send people to the moon before going to Mars. First, NASA will test out its new moon spacecraft, Orion, on a trip around the moon without astronauts.

The agency is also designing a moon-orbiting space station. While all of the people who visited the moon so far were NASA astronauts, other entities could participate in the coming decades as well.

One initiative in , from private spaceflight company SpaceX, would send Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa around the moon with a group of artists. SpaceX says it will do this in , using the company's Big Falcon Rocket to transport the space tourists there and back.

Correction : This article was updated on March 18, to include that Apollo 17 took the 11th and 12th people to the moon; not 12 people. Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community space. Elizabeth Howell is a contributing writer for Space.