On Wednesday, Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Visitor Complex held a remembrance ceremony for Gene Cernan, the last man to walk in the moon.
Cernan, 82, died on Sunday in Houston after fighting with cancer.
During the ceremony, Robert Cabana, KSC director and other officials honored the life and career of astronaut at U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame at the KSC’s Visitor Complex.
“I don’t believe that Gene is going to be the last man on the moon. And one of the things that he was extremely passionate about was our exploring beyond our own planet, and developing that capability that would allow us to go back to the moon and go beyond,” said Cabana.
“I feel badly that he wasn’t able to stay alive long enough to actually see this come to fruition.”
Jon McBride, a space shuttle astronaut and longtime friend who piloted the Challenger STS-41G mission in 1984, described Cernan as a true gentleman and a true American idol.
“He was an idol to many, many millions. God bless,” McBride said.
Last month, a similar memorial ceremony was held at KSC to honor John Glenn, the first American to orbit the earth, who died at the age 95.
“It’s so sad to lose two great heroes in such a short period of time,” said Therrin Protze, the visitor complex’s COO.
17 Jan 2017: Eugene Cernan, Apollo 17 Commander and the Last Human to Walk on Moon, Dies at 82
On Sunday, NASA announced the death of Eugene A. Cernan, the commander of the Apollo 17 lunar-landing mission of 1972. Cernan, 82, was the last human to walk on the moon. According to NASA, he died in Houston.
“We are saddened by the loss of retired NASA astronaut Gene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon,” the agency said in a tweet. Cernan died just about six weeks after the death of another American astronaut, John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962.
Eugene “Gene” Cernan was the 11th as well as the last man to walk on the moon. He made significant contributions to American space program during his 14-year astronaut career. Eugene Cernan was born on March 14, 1934 in Chicago. His father Andrew Cernan was a supervisor at a naval installation. He completed his graduation in 1952 from Proviso Township High School in Maywood, Ill. In 1956, he received an electrical engineering degree from Purdue, and then completed master degree in aeronautical engineering in 1963.
He joined the American space agency in 1963, and went into space for the first time in 1966 as a pilot during Gemini 9 mission. During this mission, he spent two hours outside the spacecraft to become second American to walk in space.
In 1969, he again went to space during Apollo 10 mission, which is considered the dress rehearsal for Apollo 11 mission for first moon landing. The lunar module during Apollo 10 mission entered an orbit 8.4 nautical miles from the moon’s surface.
Cernan’s third journey to space happened in 1972 as commander of Apollo 17 mission. Many records for human space flight were set during this mission, including longest lunar surface extravehicular activities, longest lunar landing flight, largest lunar sample return, and longest time in lunar orbit. The crew also captured some iconic pictures of the Earth on their way to moon. It was during this mission that Cernan became the last man to walk on the moon surface.
“America’s challenge of today has forged man’s destiny of tomorrow,” Cernan said as the spacecraft started its journey back to Earth.
“As we leave the moon and Taurus-Littrow [mountains], we leave as we came, and, God willing, we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind.”
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