Apollo 17 leaves the Moon
1972 · Event
Gene Cernan lifts off from the Taurus-Littrow valley as the last human being to stand on the Moon — a distinction that has now held for over half a century. The plaque left behind hopes 'the spirit of peace in which we came' will be 'reflected in the lives of all mankind'; the race that began with a beep in orbit is over.
On these timelines: The Space Race, USA, Master
More from The Space Race
- Apollo 11 moon landing (1969)
- Sputnik launch (1957)
- Yuri Gagarin: first human in space (1961)
- Apollo program announcement (1961)
- Kennedy's 'We choose to go to the Moon' speech (1962)
- 'One small step': the Moonwalk broadcast (1969)
- Gemini 6 and 7 rendezvous in orbit (1965)
- Apollo 1 fire (1967)
Around 1972
- Prague Spring (1968)
- The Troubles (1968)
- Iranian Revolution (1978)
- Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)
- Vietnam War (American phase) (1965)
- Watergate scandal (1972)
- Six-Day War (1967)
- Yom Kippur War (1973)
- Birth of hip-hop (1973)
- Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody (1975)