71-056 Apollo 17 crew announcement

MANNED SPACECRAFT CENTER PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE Houston, Texas 77058

MSC 71-56 August 13, 1971

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration today named Astronauts Eugene A. Cernan, Ronald E. Evans, and Harrison H. (Jack) Schmitt as the prime crew for Apollo 17, the last scheduled lunar landing mission.

Backup crewmen are Astronauts David R. Scott, Alfred M. Worden, and James B. Irwin, who recently completed the Apollo 15 mission.

Cernan, commander, and Schmitt, lunar module pilot, will explore the lunar surface, while Evans, command module pilot, conducts extensive scientific experiments in lunar orbit.

Schmitt, who has a Ph.D. degree in geology, will be the third holder of a doctorate to land on the moon. Astronauts Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. and Edgar D. Mitchell, lunar module pilots of Apollos 11 and 14, respectively, have Doctor of Science degrees.

Apollo 17 is scheduled for launch in December 1972. Final choice of the landing site has not yet been made. The 12-day mission Lunar surface stay time will be up to 68 hours, and three exploration periods of up to 7 hours each are planned. A Lunar Roving Vehicle will be used, and an Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package will be deployed. Mapping of the moon and several scientific experiments will be continued from lunar orbit. Evans will leave the spacecraft to retrieve film from cameras in the service module during the trip back to earth.

Cernan, 39, a Navy Captain, has accumulated 264 1/2 hours in space aboard Gemini 9 and Apollo 10. On his Gemini 9 extravehicular activity, he became the first man to stay outside a spacecraft for a full revolution of the earth. During Apollo 10, he and Colonel Thomas P. Stafford descended to within 8 miles of the lunar surface for the final checkout of the Apollo spacecraft before the first manned lunar landing. Cernan is married and has one daughter.

Evans, 37, a Navy Commander, has not yet flown in space. He was backup command module pilot for Apollo 14 and served on support crews for Apollos 7 and 11. Evans is married and has a daughter and a son.

Schmitt, 36, is a civilian. Apollo 17 will be his first space flight. He was backup lunar module pilot for Apollo 15 and has been involved in geology training for all lunar landing mission crews. Schmitt is single.