Eugene Cernan, The Last Astronaut Walked On The Moon Died At The Age Of 82
On Monday (January 16, 2017), Eugene Cernan, the last astronaut who walked on the moon had already passed away at the age of 82.
U.S space agency announced that the former astronaut Gene Cernan died on Monday due to several health issues. Â National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) did not provide further details regarding the death of Cernan.
On December 11, 1972, Cernan became a member of the most exclusive club in the universe “Apollo 17.” Cernan and Harrison Schmitt stepped into the moon’s surface as their lunar module land to the moon. He was also the second man who walked on the moon.
Cernan and Schmitt have roamed around the moon using their lunar roving vehicle for more than 19 miles in three days. During their 22 hours of exploration on the moon’s surface, they have gathered more than 100 kilograms of rocks samples.
The last astronaut who walked on the moon said that he had changed by his three-day experience on the moon and he also said that he is no longer belonged to the earth but he would rather belong to the universe.
Apollo 17 blasted off on December 07, 1972 and arrived on the moon on December 11, 1972. He was 38 years old when he walked on the moon and became the commander of Apollo 17 together with Ronald Evans in the command module.
Cernan’ walk on the moon was so painful for him due to his injured tendon on his both legs, 2 months earlier before their experience on the moon. Before their departure from the moon, Cernan parked the lunar module with camera away from the vehicle so their departure could be recorded and wrote the initials of his daughter on the moon.
“I took a moment to kneel and with a single finger, scratched Tracy’s initials, TDC, in the lunar dust, knowing those three letters would remain there undisturbed for more years than anyone could imagine,” Cernan wrote in his memoir quoted by ABS-CBN.