Design World

  • Home
  • Technologies
    • ELECTRONICS • ELECTRICAL
    • Fastening • joining
    • FLUID POWER
    • LINEAR MOTION
    • MOTION CONTROL
    • SENSORS
    • TEST & MEASUREMENT
    • Factory automation
    • Warehouse automation
    • DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
  • Learn
    • Tech Toolboxes
    • Learning center
    • eBooks • Tech Tips
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars • general engineering
    • Webinars • Automated warehousing
    • Voices
  • LEAP Awards
  • 2025 Leadership
    • 2024 Winners
    • 2023 Winners
    • 2022 Winners
    • 2021 Winners
  • Design Guides
  • Resources
    • Subscribe
    • 3D Cad Models
      • PARTsolutions
      • TraceParts
    • Digital Issues
      • Design World
      • EE World
    • Educational Assets
    • Engineering diversity
    • Trends
  • Supplier Listings
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe

Eugene Cernan, the Last Man on the Moon, Dies at 82

By Sheri Kasprzak | January 17, 2017

Photo Credit: NASA

Eugene “Gene” Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon during 1972’s Apollo 17 mission, passed away Monday at the age of 82.

Cernan was a Naval aviator and logged more than 5,000 hours of flying time with 4,800 of those logged in jet aircraft.

In addition to being the last man on the moon, Cernan was one of only three people to travel to the moon on two separate occasions, the others being Jim Lovell and John Young. He was also one of only 12 people to walk on the moon.

He was chosen for the Lunar Module Pilot of Apollo 16, which would have given him another opportunity to walk on the moon, but he turned it down so he could command his own mission. Eight months later, he commanded the Apollo 17 crew.

“Today, we lost yet another hero,” fellow astronaut and moon walker Buzz Aldrin wrote of his friend in a statement. “Gene Cernan and I met for the first time when we were selected for the third group of astronauts in November of 1963. We started our training together in January 1964, and eventually worked together as the backup crew of Gemini 9. He was a Navy guy, and I was Air Force, so there was always a friendly dose of ribbing and trying to one-up each other that continued to this day …”

Although Aldrin left NASA before Cernan’s Apollo 17 mission, Aldrin said his friend “served the nation extremely well on his mission with Ron Evans and the first scientist astronaut, Jack Schmitt.”

Aldrin also shared that Cernan’s distinction as the last man on the moon was one he did not relish.

“It [Apollo 17] was the final mission to the moon, but our hopes had been that we would press forward and eventually be on Mars as the next destination,” Aldrin wrote. “Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened, and Gene is the last person to step foot on another celestial body. He was the last man on the moon, and he wasn’t happy about that and continually stressed that he didn’t want to be the last.”

You Might Also Like


Filed Under: Aerospace + defense

 

LEARNING CENTER

Design World Learning Center
“dw
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest info on technologies, tools and strategies for Design Engineering Professionals.
Motor University

Design World Digital Edition

cover

Browse the most current issue of Design World and back issues in an easy to use high quality format. Clip, share and download with the leading design engineering magazine today.

EDABoard the Forum for Electronics

Top global problem solving EE forum covering Microcontrollers, DSP, Networking, Analog and Digital Design, RF, Power Electronics, PCB Routing and much more

EDABoard: Forum for electronics

Sponsored Content

  • Widening the scope for machine tool designers with FORTiS™ enclosed encoder
  • Sustainability, Innovation and Safety, Central to Our Approach
  • Why off-highway is the sweet spot for AC electrification technology
  • Looking to 2025: Past Success Guides Future Achievements
  • North American Companies Seek Stronger Ties with Italian OEMs
  • Adapt and Evolve
View More >>
Engineering Exchange

The Engineering Exchange is a global educational networking community for engineers.

Connect, share, and learn today »

Design World
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Manage your Design World Subscription
  • Subscribe
  • Design World Digital Network
  • Control Engineering
  • Consulting-Specifying Engineer
  • Plant Engineering
  • Engineering White Papers
  • Leap Awards

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search Design World

  • Home
  • Technologies
    • ELECTRONICS • ELECTRICAL
    • Fastening • joining
    • FLUID POWER
    • LINEAR MOTION
    • MOTION CONTROL
    • SENSORS
    • TEST & MEASUREMENT
    • Factory automation
    • Warehouse automation
    • DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
  • Learn
    • Tech Toolboxes
    • Learning center
    • eBooks • Tech Tips
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars • general engineering
    • Webinars • Automated warehousing
    • Voices
  • LEAP Awards
  • 2025 Leadership
    • 2024 Winners
    • 2023 Winners
    • 2022 Winners
    • 2021 Winners
  • Design Guides
  • Resources
    • Subscribe
    • 3D Cad Models
      • PARTsolutions
      • TraceParts
    • Digital Issues
      • Design World
      • EE World
    • Educational Assets
    • Engineering diversity
    • Trends
  • Supplier Listings
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
We use cookies to personalize content and ads, to provide social media features, and to analyze our traffic. We share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising, and analytics partners who may combine it with other information you’ve provided to them or that they’ve collected from your use of their services. You consent to our cookies if you continue to use this website.