#spaceexploration – by @vintage_nasa_photographs on Instagram
R.I.P. Eugene Cernan (1943 – 2017)
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Liftoff of the last lunar mission
Apollo 17, December 1972
Vintage chromogenic print, 20.2 x 25.4 cm
NASA S72-55070
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Apollo 17, the final lunar landing mission in NASA’s Apollo program, was the first nighttime liftoff of the Saturn V launch vehicle. Aboard the Apollo 17 spacecraft were astronaut Eugene A. Cernan, commander; astronaut Ronald E. Evans, command module pilot; and scientist-astronaut Harrison H. Schmitt, lunar module pilot. Flame from the five F-1 engines of the Apollo/Saturn first (S-1C) stage illuminates the nighttime scene. A two-hour and 40-minute hold delayed the Apollo 17 launching.
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