Apollo 17
Last crewed Moon landing in December 1972, 54 years before Artemis II.
Last refreshed: 2 April 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Why did 54 years pass between the last Moon landing and Artemis II?
Timeline for Apollo 17
Mentioned in: Artemis III core stage ships Monday
Artemis II Moon MissionMentioned in: Dose data dark 72 hours on
Artemis II Moon MissionMentioned in: Orion due to splash down; crew recovery planned
Artemis II Moon MissionMentioned in: Orion splashes down in Pacific, crew recovered aboard USS Murtha
Artemis II Moon MissionMentioned in: Lockheed Martin discloses 286 reusable Orion components ahead of NASA
Artemis II Moon MissionWho was the last person on the Moon?
When was the last Moon landing before Artemis?
Did Artemis II land on the Moon?
Background
Apollo 17 launched on 7 December 1972 carrying Eugene Cernan, Harrison Schmitt and Ron Evans. Cernan and Schmitt spent three days on the lunar surface at Taurus-Littrow, with Cernan becoming the last human to walk on the Moon.
The mission set records for the longest lunar surface stay (75 hours), the greatest distance travelled by a lunar roving vehicle (35 km) and the largest sample return (110 kg of lunar rock). Harrison Schmitt was the only professional geologist to walk on the Moon.
The 54-year gap between Apollo 17 and Artemis II is the longest hiatus in human deep-space exploration history. Artemis II does not land — it is a free-return flyby — so Cernan technically remains the last person to have stood on the lunar surface until a later Artemis mission lands.
What records did Apollo 17 set?
