), "Gene Cernan was a true hero, a pioneer in aviation and, to us, one of the greatest Boilermakers of all time," Purdue University President Mitch Daniels said in a statement. Apollo 17 ended with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.Cernan left his daughter's initials on the lunar surface (TDC, for Teresa Dawn Cernan, who was born March 4, 1963).Captain Cernan logged 566 hours and 15 minutes in space--of which more than 73 hours were spent on the surface of the Moon.In September, 1973, Cernan assumed additional duties as Special Assistant to the Program Manager of the Apollo spacecraft Program at the Johnson Space Center. 1966 Press Photo Mrs. Eugene Cernan, Wife of Astronaut in Houston, Texas . He entered flight training upon graduation. In 1972, he commanded the Apollo 17 lunar-landing mission. [7]:2931 Following flight training on the T-28 Trojan, T-33 Shooting Star, and F9F Panther, Cernan became a Naval Aviator, flying FJ-4 Fury and A-4 Skyhawk jets in Attack Squadrons 126 and 113. His hobbies included love for horses and all competitive sports activities, including hunting, fishing and flying.Among his numerous honors, the most significant are the Navy Distinguished Flying Cross, the Distinguished Service Medal with Star, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, the FAI International Gold Medal for Space, induction into the U.S. Space Hall of Fame, enshrinement into the National Aviation Hall of Fame, Naval Aviations Hall of Honor and the International Aerospace Hall of Fame. Cernan, commander of the Apollo 17 mission, walked on the moon on 14 December 1972, one of only a dozen men who have walked on the lunar surface. In maneuvering "Challenger" to a landing at Taurus-Littrow, located on the southeast edge of Mare Serenitatis, Cernan and Schmitt activated a base of operations from which they completed three highly successful excursions to the nearby craters and the Taurus mountains, making the Moon their home for over three days. Jurvetson wrote; "He found a reconciliation: 'I never read any of this in the news. Cernan was selected for the lunar module pilot position on the backup crew for Apollo 7although that flight carried no lunar module. Learn How rich is He in this year and how He spends money? He turned down the assignment as backup crew of Apollo 13, knowing that from there, he would probably rotate to Apollo 16, giving him a "potential" opportunity to walk on the Moon. At the end of the roast, Rickleswho attended the Apollo 17 launchpaid tribute to Cernan as a "delightful, wonderful, great hero". Additionally he was involved as a co-anchorman on ABC-TV's presentations of the flight of the shuttle. [27] His funeral was held at St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Houston. He took that risk because he hoped he would get a chance to command his own crew, instead of again taking the role of lunar module pilot. Anyone can read what you share. He was accompanied on the 248,000-nautical-mile trip to the Moon by Thomas P. Stafford (spacecraft commander) and John W. Young (commander module pilot). (Dec. 6, 1972, from the Moon). He also slid down a banister on a visit to the White House and once crashed a helicopter in the Atlantic while chasing a dolphin. In 1987, he married again, to Jan Nanna, and they lived in Houston. He had been a Navy attack pilot and earned a master's degree in aeronautical engineering when NASA selected him in October 1963 as one of 14 members of its third astronaut class. At 32, he was the youngest American to go into space. They could see it from Miami to Atlanta, up and down the coast. ", "It was very serious," Launius said. But it did set records: the longest lunar landing flight (nearly 302 hours) and the longest lunar surface extravehicular activities (22 hours and 6 minutes). The first and last men to walk on the moon, Neil Armstrong, left, and Mr. Cernan, appeared on Capitol Hill in 2011 to testify on human spaceflight. He graduated from Proviso Township High School in Maywood, Ill., in 1952, and received an electrical engineering degree from Purdue in 1956 and a masters in aeronautical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., in 1963. He was also portrayed byDaniel Hugh Kelly in the 1998Primetime Emmy Award-winningHBOminiseries From the Earth to the Moon., More recently, Cernan appeared in the 2016 documentary The Last Man on the Moon., Also Read: Ratings: 'Astronaut Wives Club' Lands ABC's Best Summer Time Slot Debut Since 2013. During this three-day flight which began on June 3, 1966, the spacecraft achieved a circular orbit of 161 statute miles; the crew used three different techniques to effect rendezvous with the previously launched Augmented Target Docking Adapter. Once from Orbit (Apollo 10) and the second time landing (Apollo 17, which he commanded). Eugene Andrew Cernan (/srnn/; March 14, 1934 January 16, 2017) was an American astronaut, naval aviator, electrical engineer, aeronautical engineer, and fighter pilot. Gene Cernan salutes the U.S. flag at Taurus-Littrow in December 1972. On his second space flight, he was lunar module pilot of Apollo 10, May 18-26, 1969, the first comprehensive lunar-orbital qualification and verification flight test of an Apollo lunar module. [9] The crew, however, performed a rendezvous that simulated procedures that would be used in the Apollo 10 mission; the first optical rendezvous and a lunar-orbit-abort rendezvous. We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 14 March. He founded the Cernan Corporation, an energy and aerospace consultant, in 1981 and was chairman of the Johnson Engineering Corporation from 1994 to 2000. That's my big goal.". He has been into space three times: as pilot of Gemini 9A in June 1966; as lunar module pilot of Apollo 10 in May 1969; and as commander of Apollo 17 in December 1972, the final Apollo lunar landing. With him on the voyage of the command module "America" and the lunar module "Challenger" were Ronald Evans (command module pilot) and Harrison H. (Jack) Schmitt (lunar module pilot. Eugene Cernan Net Worth. Cernan's status as the last person to walk on the Moon means Purdue University is the alma mater of both the first person to walk on the MoonNeil Armstrongand the most recent. "There's no vibration. In accomplishing all of the assigned objectives of this mission, Apollo 10 confirmed the operations performance, stability, and reliability of the command/service module and lunar module configuration during trans-lunar coast, lunar orbit insertion, and lunar module separation and descent to within 8 nautical miles of the lunar surface. Id like to dedicate the first step of Apollo 17 to all those who made it possible.. He later married Jan Nanna, who survives him, as do his daughter, Teresa Cernan Woolie; two stepdaughters, Kelly Nanna Taff and Danielle Nanna Ellis; nine grandchildren; and a sister, Dolores Riley. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University in 1956 and a Master of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the U.S. CNN Eugene A. Cernan, the last astronaut to leave his footprints on the surface of the moon, has died, NASA said Monday. ", Cernancalled it "perhaps the brightest moment of my life. Examination. One daughter from first marriage, Teresa Dawn (. Help us build the largest biographies collection on the web! In this capacity, he assisted in the planning, development, and evaluation of the joint United States/Soviet Union Apollo-Soyuz mission, and he acted for the program manager as the senior United States negotiator in direct discussions with the USSR on the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.On July 1, 1976, Captain Cernan retired after over 20 years with the U.S. Navy. Cernan traveled into space three times and to the Moon twice: as pilot of Gemini 9A in June 1966, as lunar module pilot of Apollo 10 in May 1969, and as commander of Apollo 17 in December 1972, the final Apollo lunar landing. Eugene Cernan net worth is $12 Million Eugene Cernan Wiki: Salary, Married, Wedding, Spouse, Family Eugene Andrew "Gene" Cernan (/sr.nn/; born March 14, 1934), (Capt, USN, Ret. In addition to his stepchildren, he had two grandchildren. (1987 -. NASA announced that former astronaut Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon, died Monday, Jan. 16, 2017, surrounded by his family. They remained friends. During this three-day flight which began on June 3, 1966, the spacecraft achieved a circular orbit of 161 statute miles; the crew used three different techniques to effect rendezvous with the previously launched Augmented Target Docking Adapter. FORMER astronaut Gene Cernan, the last person to walk on the moon who returned to Earth with a message of "peace and hope for all mankind," died on Monday in Texas following ongoing heath issues, his family said. He later acknowledged that he had grasped for words to leave behind, knowing how the world remembered Neil Armstrong's "giant leap for mankind" on stepping on the moon in 1969. Contact J&C city and county government reporter Jeremy Ervin at 765-420-5393. Eugene Cernan, whose tribute to his daughter in the most recent moonwalk has ingrained him in pop culture, died Monday, according to NASA. Completing their third moon walk on Dec. 14, Schmitt returned to the lunar module and was followed byCernan. In 1966, he was pilot of Gemini 9, a three-day flight with command pilot Tom Stafford where they used different techniques to rendezvous with a docking adapter that was previously launched. He is also one of only twelve people to have walked on the Moon. In December, 2007, The National Aeronautic Association presented Cernan with one of the most prestigious aviation trophies in the world, the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy, in Washington, DC. 8.85 MB. Astronaut, Purdue grad Gene Cernan dead at 82 $9.99 + $4.99 shipping + $4.99 shipping + $4.99 shipping. "I can always walk on Main Street again, but I can never return to my Valley of Taurus-Littrow, and that cold fact has left me with a yearning restlessness," he wrote in his 1999 autobiography, also entitled "The Last Man on the Moon. The captain also scratched his daughters initials TDC, for Teresa Dawn Cernan in the lunar dust, a talisman that might last eons on a lifeless world. Jan. 16, 2017 12:50 PM PT. "We leave as we came and, God willing, as we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind,"Cernansaid. More about Eugene Cernan edit Dating History Grid List Table # 3 Jan Cernan 5 0 1986 Many hours of these ABC broadcasts have been uploaded to YouTube in recent years. His zodiac sign is Pisces. Three and a half years after Neil A. Armstrong took mankinds first step onto the lunar surface in 1969, Mr. Cernan, a Navy captain and one of the nations most experienced astronauts, landed with a geologist-astronaut near the Sea of Serenity in the final chapter of the Apollo program, Americas audacious venture to fulfill President John F. Kennedys 1961 pledge to put Americans on the moon. There had never been a manned flight launching at night, so we started out with a big bang. Cernan changed to active duty and attended flying training at Whiting Field, Florida, Barron Field, Texas, NAS Corpus Christi, Texas, and NAS Memphis, Tennessee. 2 Theresa Dawn Cernan Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images Images Images Creative Editorial Video Creative Editorial FILTERS CREATIVE EDITORIAL VIDEO 2 Theresa Dawn Cernan Premium High Res Photos Browse 2 theresa dawn cernan stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. Discover Eugene Cernan's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. One daughter from first marriage, Teresa Dawn ( Tracy Cernan ), born 4 March 1963. Captain Cernan was the last of 12 Americans to set foot on the moon in six Apollo landings. Achieving the rank of captain, he retired from the Navy in 1976. Cernanwas commander of NASA's Apollo 17 mission and on his third space flight when he set foot on the lunar surface in December 1972. On June 5, 1966fifty-five years agoEugene Cernan became the third person to walk in space. Cernan piloted the rover on its final sortie, recording a maximum speed of 11.2mph (18.0km/h), giving him the unofficial lunar land speed record.[14]. [45], A recording of Cernan's voice during the Apollo 17 mission was sampled by Daft Punk for "Contact", the last track on their 2013 album Random Access Memories. (NASA via AP) HOUSTON (AP) -- Former astronaut Gene . You hit a little pothole and you've got one wheel off the ground half the time. He turned down the assignment as backup crew of Apollo 13, knowing that from there, he would probably rotate to Apollo 16, giving him a "potential" opportunity to walk on the Moon. Cernan died Monday. He recalled the silence after the lunar lander's engine shut down. Godspeed the crew of Apollo 17. Cuando el 14 de diciembre de 1972, hace hoy medio siglo, el comandante Eugene Cernan subi al mdulo lunar y dej el satlite para volver a la Tierra no saba que se convertira, hasta hoy, en. Cernan was commander of Apollo 17, which blasted off from Kennedy Space Center on Dec. 7, 1972. As he re-entered the Apollo Lunar Module after Harrison Schmitt on their third and final lunar excursion, he remains as of 2023, famously: "The last man on the Moon". Eugene Andrew Cernan (/sr.nn/; born March 14, 1934) is a retired American naval officer, fighter pilot and NASA astronaut. 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