Reports/Apollo 17/Mission report/1.0 Summary
Apollo 17, the final Apollo mission, was launched at 05:33:00 G.m.t. (12:33:00 a.m. e.s.t.), December 7, 1972, from Launch Complex 39 at the Kennedy Space Center. The spacecraft was manned by Captain Eugene A. Cernan, Commander; Commander Ronald E. Evans, Command Module Pilot; and Dr. Harrison H. Schmitt, Lunar Module Pilot.
The launch countdown had proceeded smoothly until T minus 30 seconds, at which time a failure in the automatic countdown sequencer occurred and caused a launch delay of 2 hours and 40 minutes. This was the only launch delay in the Apollo program that was caused by hardware failure. As a result, the launch azimuth was adjusted and an earth parking orbit of 92.5-miles by 91.2-miles was achieved. The vehicle remained in earth orbit for approximately 3 hours before the translunar injection maneuver was initiated. The translunar coast time was shortened to compensate for the launch delay. Transposition, docking, and lunar module ejection were normal. The S-IVB stage was maneuvered for lunar impact, which occurred about 84 miles from the pre-planned point. The impact was recorded by the Apollo 12, 14, 15, and 16 passive seismometers.
The crew performed a heat flow and convection demonstration and an Apollo light flash experiment during the translunar coast period. One midcourse correction was performed to achieve the desired altitude of closest approach to the lunar surface. The scientific instrument module door was jettisoned approximately 4 1/2 hours prior to lunar orbit insertion. The Apollo 17 spacecraft initiated the lunar orbit insertion maneuver and entered into a 170-mile by 52.6-mile orbit. Approximately 4 1/2 hours later, the command and service module performed the first of two descent orbit insertion maneuvers lowering the orbit to 59 by 14.5-miles. The command and service module and lunar module stayed in this orbit about 17 1/4 hours before undocking and separating. After undocking, the command and service module orbit was circularized to 70 miles by 54 miles and the lunar module lowered its orbit to 59.6-miles by 6.2-miles by performing the second descent orbit insertion maneuver. From this orbit, the lunar module initiated its powered descent and landed at 20 degrees 9 minutes 55 seconds north latitude, 30 degrees 45 minutes 57 seconds east longitude at 110:21:58.
The first extravehicular activity began at about 114:22. The offloading of the lunar roving vehicle and unstowage of equipment proceeded normally. The lunar surface experiment package was deployed approximately 185 meters west northwest of the lunar module. The Commander- drove the rover to the experiments package deployment site and drilled the heat flow and deep core holes and emplaced the neutron probe experiment. Two geologic units were sampled, two explosive packages were deployed and seven traverse gravimeter measurements were taken during the extravehicular activity. About 31 pounds of samples were collected during the 7 hour and 12 minute extravehicular activity.
The second extravehicular activity began at about 137:5. The traverse was conducted with real-time modifications to station stop times because of geological interests. Orange soil was found and has been the subject of considerable geological discussion. Five surface samples and a double-core sample were taken at this site. Three explosive packages were deployed, seven traverse gravimeter measurements were taken, and all observations were photographed. The crew traveled 7370 meters away from the lunar module, and this is the greatest radial distance any crew has traveled away from the lunar module on the lunar surface. About 75 pounds of samples were gathered during the 7 hours 37 minutes of extravehicular activity.
The third extravehicular activity began at about 160:53. Specific sampling objectives were accomplished at stations 6 and 7 among some 3-to 4-meter boulders. Nine traverse gravimeter measurements were made. The surface electrical properties experiment was terminated because the receiver temperature was approaching the upper limits of the data tape and the recorder was removed at station 9.
At the completion of the traverse, the crew selected a breccia rock, which was dedicated to nations represented by students visiting the Mission Control Center. A plaque on the landing gear of the lunar module commemorating all Apollo lunar landings vas then unveiled. Samples amounting to about 137 pounds were obtained during the 7-hour and 15-minute third extravehicular activity for a total of approximately 243 pounds for the mission. The lunar roving vehicle was driven about 36 kilometers during the three extravehicular activities. The total time of the three extravehicular activities was 22 hours and 04 minutes.
Numerous orbital science activities were conducted in lunar orbit while the lunar surface was being explored. In addition to the panoramic camera, the mapping camera, and the laser altimeter, three new scientific instrument module experiments were included in the Apollo 17 complement of orbital science equipment. An ultraviolet spectrometer measured lunar atmospheric density and composition, an infrared radiometer mapped the thermal characteristics of the moon, and a lunar sounder acquired data on subsurface structure. The orbital science experiments and cameras have provided a large amount of data for evaluating and analyzing the lunar surface and the lunar environment.
The command and service module orbit did not decay as predicted while the lunar module was on the lunar surface. Consequently, a small orbital trim maneuver was performed to laver the orbit, and in addition, a planned plane change maneuver was made in preparation for rendezvous.
Lunar ascent vas initiated after 74 hours 59 minutes and 39 seconds on the lunar surface, and vas followed by a normal rendezvous and docking. Samples and equipment were transferred from the ascent stage to the command module, and the ascent stage was jettisoned for the deorbit firing. The ascent stage impacted the lunar surface at 19 degrees 57 minutes 58 seconds and 30 degrees 29 minutes 23 seconds about a mile from the planned target. An additional day was spent in lunar orbit performing scientific experiments, after which transearth injection was initiated.
A 1-hour and 6-minute transearth extravehicular activity vas conducted by the Command Module Pilot to retrieve the film cassettes from the scientific instrument module bay. The crew performed the Apollo light flash experiment and operated the infrared radiometer and ultraviolet spectrometer during the transearth phase. One midcourse correction was performed during this phase.
Entry and landing were normal. The command module landed in the Pacific Ocean vest of Hawaii, about 1 mile from the planned location. The Apollo 17 mission lasted 301 hours, 51 minutes, and 59 seconds. The Apollo 17 mission thus brought to a close the Apollo Program, one of the most ambitious and successful endeavors of man.
Edits and errors by Eric Hartwell are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 license. The original NASA material is copyright-free.