Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Joe Engle!

Joe Engle, born August 26, 1932 in Chapman, Kansas, was chosen by NASA as an astronaut in 1966.  He was the backup pilot for the Lunar Module Pilot for Apollo 14.  He was originally scheduled as Lunar Module Pilot for Apollo 17 but NASA selected Harrison Schmitt instead.

His first mission into space was aboard Columbia (STS-2) as commander with pilot Richard Truly in November 1981.  The mission was intended to reboot the Skylab space station but due to development delays and the Skylab's deteriorating orbit, Skylab was de-orbited in July 1979.

His second and final mission was as commander of Discovery (STS-51-I) in August-September 1985.  He spent just over 7 days in space.

Happy birthday, Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison "Jack" Schmitt!

Harrison "Jack" Schmitt, born July 3, 1935 in Santa Rita, New Mexico, flew to the moon on Apollo 17, becoming the twelfth person to walk on the moon.  He received his PhD in geology from Harvard University in 1964. 

He was assigned to be the Lunar Module Pilot for Apollo 17, with Eugene Cernan and Ronald Evans.  He  is the second to  last person to have walked on the moon.

He resigned from NASA in 1975 to seek election to the U. S. Senate for New Mexico and won in 1976.

Gene Cernan, last man on the moon, born 1934

Eugene "Gene" Cernan, born March 14, 1934 in Chicago, Illinois, was the last man to walk on the moon.  He made two trips to the moon on separate occasions, the first in Apollo 10 and the second in Apollo 17. 

His first mission in space was on Gemini IX with Tom Stafford in June 1966.  They were selected as the backup crew but the primary crew (Elliot See and Charles Bassett) was killed in a crash on February 28, 1966.  Cernan and Stafford performed rendezvous procedures that would be used on Apollo 10.

He and Stafford went into space on Apollo 10 in May 1969 on what would be the final "dress rehearsal" for the moon landing, which Apollo 11 accomplished two months later.

His final flight was as commander of Apollo 17 in December 1972. It was the last mission of the Apollo program.  He and Harrison Schmitt performed three EVAs for about 22 hours.  He was the last man to climb up the ladder into the Lunar lander.

Cernan published his memoir The Last Man on the Moon in 1999.

He passed away in January 2017 at 82 years old.

Apollo 17 astronaut Ronald Evans born 1933

Ronald Ellwin Evans, Jr., born November 10, 1933 in St. Francis, Kansas, walked on the moon as part of the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, the last trip to the moon.  Harrison Schmidte and Gene Cernan took the last steps on the lunar surface while Evans orbited above as the Command Module Pilot.

On the trip back to Earth, Evans completed an EVA for one hour and 6 minutes to retrieve some cameras and an inspection of the equipment bay area.  This was his only trip into space.

He passed away in Scottsdale, Arizona of a heart attack April 7, 1990.

Apollo 17, last trip to the Moon, launched 1972

Apollo 17 crew (L-R): Lunar Module Pilot Harrison H. Schmitt; Commander Eugene A. Cernan (seated); Command Module Pilot Ronald E. Evans

December 7, 1972, Apollo 17 began its trip to the Moon, the last manned mission of the Apollo program.  Eugene Cernan became the last man to walk on the lunar surface, just three years after Neil Armstrong became the first man on the moon.

Cernan and Schmitt spent about 3 days on the Moon, longer than any previous crew, and logged over 22 miles on the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV), traveling almost 5 miles from the lunar lander.

They splashed down in the south Pacific Ocean, December 19.