Dead Gene Cernan, the last man to walk on the Moon – International Business Times Italia

Each of the astronauts of the Apollo mission has its place in history, but Eugene “Gene” Cernan, who passed away in the last few hours at 82 years of age, which enjoyed a privileged status”: in 1972, as commander of the mission Apollo 17, became the last person to leave the soil of the Moon. The ex-pilot of the u.s. navy, died in Chicago surrounded by his family”, as he wanted to specify to NASA, in a statement of condolences.

The importance of Cernan in the history of space exploration, however, is not limited to being the commander of Apollo 17: astronaut of Illinois was also the second american and the third man ever to perform a space walk (in the course of the mission Gemini 9A in 1966), as well as one of the only three humans to have completed the journey from the Earth to the Moon (the other two being Jim Lovell and John Young).

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Eugene A. Cernan aboard the Lunar Rover during the Apollo 17 NASA-PD

Gene Cernan was the lunar module pilot for Apollo 10, the mission considered the “dress rehearsal” for the landing on the Moon of Apollo 11. With Cernan at the controls, the LEM came up to 15 km from the surface of the satellite and then return to the command module (the thing that makes the astronaut who has just died is also the only one to have completed this maneuver for two times).

For this reason, Cernan joked often with Neil Armstrong, playing to minimize the extent of the result of the first man on the Moon: “I keep saying to Neil that we painted that white line in the sky in the direction of the Moon up to a height of 15 km so that he can not lose, and that all he had to do was land. It to him, we have made it easy.”

While I am in the last steps of a human being on the surface, back home for a bit of time – but we believe not very much in the future – I would just like to say what I believe history will report that the challenge of the America of today has forged man’s destiny of tomorrow. And, as we leave the Moon here in Taurus-song pays tribute to, we leave as we came and, God willing, as we shall return: with peace and hope for all humanity. Have a good trip to the crew of the Apollo 17

Eugene Cernan, December 14, 1972, shortly before returning to the lunar module

As if this series of firsts is not enough, with his two companions of Apollo 10 Cernan holds still the record of the passengers of the vehicle faster with humans on board (39.897 km/h during the return from the Moon), while all of his is the primacy of speed established on the Moon: 18 km/h, while he was driving the Lunar Rover.

Eugene Cernan, born in 1934 in Chicago, flew three times in space NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan John R. Fischer/Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class

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Cernan was much appreciated by his colleagues for being an effective mix of professionalism and joviality. Of the many episodes that you may remember, stands out certainly the moment in which, along with Harrison Schmitt, he began to sing, “I was strolling on the Moon one day” (variation of the song “While Strolling Through the Park One Day”) during a walk on the Moon’s surface.

When we are now a few days from the establishment of Donald Trump as the 45° President of the USA, we like to remember as Cernan, without a shadow of a doubt, an important piece of american history, was the son of a father Slovak and a mother’s Czech. Maybe someone could draw a teaching from the thing.