Word: cernan
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...white parachutes. Then, while a television-equipped helicopter hovered almost directly above it to give the world its first bird's-eye view of a splashdown, the command ship dropped into the gently rolling Pacific. Less than an hour later, Apollo 17's three astronauts-Navymen Gene Cernan and Ron Evans and slightly seasick Civilian Geologist Jack Schmitt-were safely aboard the carrier. "By golly," said Cernan, "it's good to be home...
...lunar maps made of stiff photographic paper and attach the resulting 15-by 20-in. rectangle to the damaged fender with clamps taken from Challenger's interior light fixtures. The scheme worked. Indeed, the paper fender was so effective that it shielded the astronauts from dust even when Cernan opened the rover's throttle to more than 7 m.p.h. on the way to South Massif, about four miles away. "Whoooaa, let's slow the speed up," Schmitt pleaded as the car narrowly missed dipping into one steep little crater. Cernan, however, showed a sure hand...
...crater named Shorty (after a character in Richard Brautigan's novel Trout Fishing in America). Suddenly, as his space boots scuffed some of the gray topsoil from the crater's rim, he exclaimed: "Hey, there is orange soil. It's all over." Chugging toward him, Cernan shouted: "Well, don't move until I see it!" The astronauts' enthusiasm on the moon was shared by scientists watching in Mission Control's "back room." Caltech's Gerald Wasserburg jumped up from his fourth-row seat and practically pressed his nose against the TV screen...
...final moments outside the moonship, Cernan held up what he called "a very significant rock, composed of many fragments of all sizes and shapes and colors." Speaking directly to youngsters of 78 nations who had been invited to Houston for the final moon shot, Cernan said that the rock would be divided among their countries "as a symbol that we can live in peace and harmony in the future." Then, after moving back to Challenger, Cernan unveiled a plaque on the ship's descent stage, which would remain behind on the moon. Evoking the words of a similar plaque...
...Gentle. Little more than seven minutes after its spectacular ascent from the lunar surface, Challenger was in lunar orbit, ready for its rendezvous with America. "God, you look pretty," Cernan radioed as Challenger approached the mother ship. Evans maneuvered America so gingerly in the final phases that the first docking contact was too gentle; the latches of the docking mechanism failed to catch. The two ships came together harder on the second try and were firmly joined. Taking their rocks, films and other paraphernalia with them, Cernan and Schmitt climbed through the connecting tunnel and rejoined Evans; the moonwalkers...