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 Mission- Who was the last person on the Moon?
- Eugene Cernan, commander of Apollo 17, who left the lunar surface on 14 December 1972.Source: Lowdown briefing analysis
- When was the last Moon landing before Artemis?
- Apollo 17 in December 1972, a 54-year gap before Artemis II's crewed lunar flyby in 2026.Source: Lowdown briefing analysis
- Did Artemis II land on the Moon?
- No. Artemis II is a free-return flyby; no landing occurs. Cernan remains the last person to have walked on the Moon.Source: Lowdown briefing analysis
- What records did Apollo 17 set?
- Longest lunar surface stay (75 hrs), greatest rover distance (35 km), largest sample return (110 kg). Only mission with a professional geologist on the surface.Source: Lowdown briefing analysis
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.
