:Gene Cernan

{{short description|American astronaut and lunar explorer (1934–2017)}}

{{Redirect|Cernan|the Chicago-area public planetarium named in his honor|Cernan Earth and Space Center|the minor planet named for him|12790 Cernan|the location in France|Cernans}}

{{Infobox astronaut

| name = Gene Cernan

| image = Cernan s71-51308.jpg

| caption = Cernan in 1971

| birth_name = Eugene Andrew Cernan

| birth_date = {{birth date|1934|3|14}}

| birth_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2017|1|16|1934|3|14}}

| death_place = Houston, Texas, U.S.

| restingplace = Texas State Cemetery

| education = {{ubl|Purdue University (BS)|Naval Postgraduate School (MS)}}

| spouse = {{marriage|Barbara Jean Artchley|1961|1981|end=divorced}}
{{marriage|Janis Ellen Jones|1987}}

| children = 1

| awards = {{ubl|Astronaut Badge (2)|Distinguished Flying Cross|NASA Distinguished Service Medal}}

| type = NASA astronaut

| rank = Captain, USN

| time = 23d 14h 15m

| selection = NASA Group 3 (1963)

| eva1 = 4

| eva2 = 24h 11m

| mission = {{ubl|Gemini 9A|Apollo 10|Apollo 17}}

| insignia = 48px 40px 48px

| retirement = July 1, 1976

| website = {{url|genecernan.com|Official website}}

| signature = Eugene Cernan signature.svg

}}

Eugene Andrew Cernan ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|ɜːr|n|ə|n}}; March 14, 1934 – January 16, 2017) was an American astronaut, naval aviator, electrical engineer, aeronautical engineer, and fighter pilot. During the Apollo 17 mission, Cernan became the 11th human being to walk on the Moon. As he re-entered the Apollo Lunar Module after Harrison Schmitt on their third and final lunar excursion, he remains the most recent person to walk on the Moon. Since he exited the LM first and entered last, he has slightly more lunar surface EVA time on the Moon than Schmitt, making Cernan the astronaut with the record of longest time walking on the Moon.

Before becoming an astronaut, Cernan graduated with a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from Purdue University in Indiana, and joined the U.S. Navy through the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC). After flight training, he received his naval aviator wings and served as a fighter pilot. In 1963, he received a master of science degree in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. Achieving the rank of captain, he retired from the Navy in 1976.

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. Cernan was also a backup crew member of the Gemini 12, Apollo 7 and Apollo 14 space missions.

Biography

=Early years=

Cernan was born on March 14, 1934, in Chicago, Illinois;{{Cite news |date=June 3, 1966 |title=Astronauts are Like Two Peas from a Pod |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-miami-news/28981781/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240528193315/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-miami-news/28981781/ |archive-date=May 28, 2024 |location=Miami, Florida |page=10 |via=Newspapers.com |newspaper=The Miami News }} he was the son of Andrew George Cernan (1904–1967) and Rose Cernan (née Cihlar; 1898–1991). His father was of Slovak descent{{cite news |title=Cernan's Slovak Relatives Celebrate Apollo Splashdown |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-progress-index-gene-cernan-1834-201/163233705/ |work=The Progress-Index |date=May 27, 1969 |location=Petersburg, VA |page=10 |access-date=January 17, 2025 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}} and his mother was of Czech ancestry. He had one older sister, Dolores Ann (1929–2019).{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zCL6BoE2HU4C&q=Rose%20Cihlar%20Andrew%20Cernan&pg=PA337 |title=Escaping the Bonds of Earth: The Fifties and the Sixties |first=Ben |last=Evans |date=April 2, 2010 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=9780387790947 |via=Google Books |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118052632/https://books.google.com/books?id=zCL6BoE2HU4C&pg=PA337&dq=Rose%20Cihlar%20Andrew%20Cernan&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiJsO26_MfRAhVJ4oMKHX26BXsQ6AEIFDAA |archive-date=January 18, 2017 }}{{cite web|title=United States Census, 1940 |url=https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KW46-SSG |publisher=The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |access-date=January 24, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118051721/https://familysearch.org/ark%3A/61903/1%3A1%3AKW46-SSG |archive-date=January 18, 2017 }} Cernan grew up in the Illinois towns of Bellwood and Maywood. He was a Boy Scout and earned the rank of Second Class.{{cite web|url=http://www.scouting.org/About/FactSheets/scouting_space.aspx |title=Scouting and Space Exploration |publisher= Boy Scouts of America|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304032406/http://www.scouting.org/about/factsheets/scouting_space.aspx |archive-date=March 4, 2016 }} After attending McKinley Elementary School in Bellwood, and graduating from Proviso Township High School in Maywood in 1952, he studied at Purdue University where he became a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, serving as a treasurer. At Purdue, Cernan was also president of the Quarterdeck Society and the Scabbard and Blade, and a member Tau Beta Pi engineering honor society. He was on the military ball committee and was a member of the Skull and Crescent leadership honor society.{{Cite web |date=January 16, 2023 |title=Eugene Andrew Cernan (14 March 1934–16 January 2017) {{!}} This Day in Aviation |url=https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/14-march-1934-16-january-2016-eugene-andrew-cernan/ |access-date=August 11, 2023 |language=en-US}} After his sophomore year, he accepted a partial Navy ROTC scholarship that required him to serve aboard {{USS|Roanoke|CL-145|6}} between his junior and senior years. In 1956, Cernan received a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering; his final GPA was 5.1 out of 6.0.{{cite web|url=http://airportjournals.com/gene-cernan-always-shoot-for-the-moon-part-i/ |title=Gene Cernan: Always Shoot for the Moon, Part I |date=July 1, 2005 |publisher=Airport Journals |access-date=January 24, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160527171848/http://airportjournals.com/gene-cernan-always-shoot-for-the-moon-part-i/ |archive-date=May 27, 2016 }}

= Navy service =

Cernan was commissioned a U.S. Navy Ensign through the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) at Purdue, and was initially stationed on the {{USS|Saipan|CVL-48|6}}. Cernan changed to active duty and attended flight training at Whiting Field, Florida, Barron Field, Texas, NAS Corpus Christi, Texas, and NAS Memphis, Tennessee.{{cite book|title=The Last Man On The Moon|last1=Cernan|first1=Eugene|last2=Davis|first2=Don|publisher=St. Martin's Press|date=March 15, 1999|isbn=978-0-312-19906-7|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/lastmanonmoonast00cern_0}}{{rp|29–31}} 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.{{rp|31–33,38–39}} Upon completion of his assignment in NAS Miramar, California, he finished his education in 1963 at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School with a Master of Science degree in aeronautical engineering.

During his naval career, Cernan logged more than 5,000 hours of flying time, including 4,800 hours in jet aircraft. Cernan also made at least 200 successful landings on aircraft carriers.{{Cite web |date=January 2017 |title=Eugene A. Cernan (Captain, USN, Ret.) NASA Astronaut (Deceased) |url=https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/cernan_eugene_a._deceased_pdf_75_kb_.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240513220907/https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/cernan_eugene_a._deceased_pdf_75_kb_.pdf |archive-date=May 13, 2024 |access-date=January 10, 2021 |website=Biographical Data |publisher=NASA }}

=NASA career=

In October 1963, NASA selected Cernan as one of the third group of astronauts to participate in the Gemini and Apollo space programs.

==Gemini program==

File:Gene Cernan in Gemini IX spacecraft.jpg]]

Cernan was originally selected with Thomas Stafford as backup pilot for Gemini 9. When the prime crew of Elliot See and Charles Bassett was killed in the crash of NASA T-38A "901" (USAF serial 63–8181) at Lambert Field, Missouri, on February 28, 1966, the backup crew became the prime crew—the first time in NASA history this happened.{{cite book

|last1=Hacker

|first1=Barton C.

|last2=Grimwood

|first2=James M.

|title=On the Shoulders of Titans: A History of Project Gemini

|chapter=Chapter 14 Charting New Space Lanes

|chapter-url=https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4203/ch14-2.htm

|publisher=NASA

|series=NASA History Series

|volume=SP-4203

|date=September 1974

|url=http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4203/toc.htm

|url-status=live

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100113132344/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4203/toc.htm

|archive-date=January 13, 2010

}} Gemini 9A encountered a number of problems; the original target vehicle exploded during launch and the planned docking with a substitute target vehicle was made impossible by the failure of a protective shroud to separate after launch. The crew 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. Cernan performed the second American EVA, the third-ever spacewalk, but overexertion caused by a lack of limb restraints prevented testing of the Astronaut Maneuvering Unit and forced the early termination of the spacewalk. Cernan was also a backup pilot for the Gemini 12 mission.{{cite web|url=http://www.nmspacemuseum.org/halloffame/detail.php?id=61 |title=Commanded Apollo 17, the last human lunar mission |access-date=January 17, 2017 |publisher=New Mexico Museum of Space History |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118213805/http://www.nmspacemuseum.org/halloffame/detail.php?id=61 |archive-date=January 18, 2017 }}

==Apollo program==

===Apollo 10===

File:Apollo 10 Cernan and Snoopy at news conference.jpg during Apollo 10 press conference]]

Cernan was selected as the backup lunar module pilot for Apollo 7—although that flight carried no lunar module.{{cite web|url=https://airandspace.si.edu/explore-and-learn/topics/apollo/apollo-program/orbital-missions/apollo7-crew.cfm|title=Apollo 7 Crew - National Air and Space Museum|website=airandspace.si.edu|access-date=April 19, 2018|archive-date=June 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220616203309/https://airandspace.si.edu/learn/highlighted-topics-/apollo|url-status=dead}} Standard crew rotation put him in place as the Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 10—the final dress rehearsal mission for the first Apollo lunar landing—on May 18–26, 1969.

During the Apollo 10 mission, Cernan and his commander, Tom Stafford, piloted the Lunar Module Snoopy in lunar orbit to within {{Convert|8.5|nmi|km}} of the lunar surface, and successfully executed every phase of a lunar landing up to final powered descent. This provided NASA planners with critical knowledge of technical systems and lunar gravitational conditions to enable Apollo 11 to land on the Moon two months later. Apollo 10 holds the record for the highest speed attained by any crewed vehicle at {{convert|39897|kph|mph|abbr=on}} – more than 11 km per second — during its return from the Moon on May 26, 1969.

===Apollo 17===

Cernan declined the opportunity to walk on the Moon as Lunar Module Pilot of Apollo 16, preferring to risk missing a flight for the opportunity to command his own mission.{{cite web|url=http://digital.houstonlibrary.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/oralhistory/id/112 |title=Gene Cernan Oral History |series=Houston Oral History Project |date=2009-02-05 |access-date=2015-04-19 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150201223728/http://digital.houstonlibrary.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/oralhistory/id/112 |archive-date=2015-02-01 }} Cernan moved back into the Apollo rotation as commander of the backup crew of Cernan, Ronald E. Evans, and Joe Engle for Apollo 14, putting him in position through normal crew rotation to command his own crew on Apollo 17. Escalating budget cutbacks for NASA brought the number of future missions into question. After the Apollo 18 and Apollo 19 missions were cancelled in September 1970, pressure from the scientific community mounted to shift Harrison Schmitt, the sole professional geologist in the active Apollo roster of astronauts, to the crew of Apollo 17, the final scheduled Apollo mission. In August 1971, NASA named Schmitt as the lunar module pilot for Apollo 17, which meant the original LM pilot Joe Engle lost his opportunity to walk on the Moon. Cernan fought to keep his crew together; given the choice of flying with Schmitt as LMP or seeing his entire crew removed from Apollo 17, Cernan chose to fly with Schmitt. Cernan eventually came to have a positive evaluation of Schmitt's abilities; he concluded that Schmitt was an outstanding LM pilot while Engle—notwithstanding his outstanding record as an aircraft test pilot—was merely an adequate one.{{cite web |url=https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/a17.prepdi.html |publisher=NASA |website=Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal |title=A Running Start - Apollo 17 up to Powered Descent Initiation |date=2014-06-10 |access-date=2016-06-19 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160712014734/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/a17.prepdi.html |archive-date=2016-07-12 }}

Cernan's role as commander of Apollo 17 closed out the Apollo program's lunar exploration mission with a number of record-setting achievements. During the three days of Apollo 17's surface activity (11-14 December 1972), Cernan and Schmitt performed three EVAs for a total of about 22 hours of exploration of the Taurus–Littrow valley. Their first EVA alone was more than three times the length astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin spent outside the LM on Apollo 11. During this time, Cernan and Schmitt covered more than {{convert|35|km|mi nmi|abbr=on}} using the Lunar Roving Vehicle and spent a great deal of time collecting geologic samples (including a record {{convert|34|kg|lb st|abbr=on}} of samples, the most of any Apollo mission) that would shed light on the Moon's early history. Cernan piloted the rover on its final sortie, recording a maximum speed of {{convert|11.2|mph|km/h m/s|abbr=on}}, giving him the unofficial lunar land speed record.{{cite magazine|last1=Lyons|first1=Pete|title=10 Best Ahead-of-Their-Time Machines|magazine=Car and Driver|date=January 1988|page=78}}

As Cernan prepared to climb the ladder for the final time, he spoke these words, currently the last spoken by a human being standing on the lunar surface:

{{quote|"Bob, this is Gene, and I'm on the surface; and, as I take man's last step from the surface, back home for some time to come—but we believe not too long into the future—I'd like to just (say) what I believe history will record: that America's challenge of today has forged man's destiny of tomorrow. And, as we leave the Moon at Taurus–Littrow, we leave as we came and, God willing, as we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind. Godspeed the crew of Apollo 17."|Gene Cernan{{cite web|url=http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/a17/a17.clsout3.html |last=Jones |first=Eric M |title=EVA-3 Close-out |work=Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal |publisher=NASA |date=2010-10-28 |access-date=2011-08-28 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111028121823/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/a17/a17.clsout3.html |archive-date=2011-10-28 }} }}

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 Moon (i.e, Neil Armstrong) and the most recent. Cernan is one of only three astronauts to travel to the Moon on two occasions, along with Jim Lovell and John Young. He is also one of only twelve people to have walked on the Moon, as well as the only person to have flown in two different Apollo Lunar Modules in space while not docked to the Apollo Command and Service Module, both times near the Moon.{{fact|date=February 2025}}

=Post-NASA activities=

File:Neil Armstrong public memorial service (201209130003HQ).jpg September 13, 2012]]

In 1976, Cernan retired from the Navy with the rank of captain and went from NASA into private business, becoming Executive Vice President of Coral Petroleum Inc. before starting his own company, The Cernan Corporation, in 1981. In 1981 and 1982, Cernan joined Frank Reynolds and Jules Bergman on the extensive ABC coverage of the first 3 Space Shuttle launches. Many hours of these ABC broadcasts have been uploaded to YouTube in recent years. From 1987 he was a contributor to ABC News and the weekly segment of its Good Morning America program titled "Breakthrough", which covered health, science, and medicine.{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-01-08-ca-3086-story.html |title='Good Morning' Segment For Cernan |date=January 8, 1987 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date=June 19, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160813071621/http://articles.latimes.com/1987-01-08/entertainment/ca-3086_1_eugene-cernan |archive-date=August 13, 2016 }}

In 1999, with co-author Donald A. Davis, he published his memoir The Last Man on the Moon, which is about his naval and NASA career. He is featured in the space exploration documentary In the Shadow of the Moon in which he said, "truth needs no defense" and "nobody can take those footsteps I made on the surface of the Moon away from me".{{Citation

|last=Soller

|first=Kurt

|title=Moonstruck: Debunking the Claims of Moon Landing Deniers

|newspaper=Newsweek

|date=July 17, 2009

|url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/207149

|access-date=September 4, 2009

|url-status=live

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090825105158/http://www.newsweek.com/id/207149

|archive-date=August 25, 2009

}} Cernan also contributed to the book of the same name.

Cernan and Neil Armstrong testified before U.S. Congress in 2010 in opposition to the cancellation of the Constellation program, which had been initiated during the George W. Bush administration as part of the Vision for Space Exploration with the aim of returning humans to the Moon and eventually Mars, but was deemed underfunded and unsustainable by the Augustine Commission in 2009.{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna36470363 |title=Armstrong: Obama NASA Plan 'devastating' |access-date=January 17, 2017 |date=April 13, 2010 |work=NBC News |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161224143658/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/36470363/ns/nbc_nightly_news_with_brian_williams/t/armstrong-obama-nasa-plan-devastating/ |archive-date=December 24, 2016 }}

Cernan paired his criticism of the cancellation of Constellation with expressions of skepticism about Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) and Commercial Crew Development (CCDev), NASA's planned replacements for that program's role in supplying cargo and crew to the International Space Station. Such companies, Cernan warned, "do not yet know what they don't know." Cernan's view of commercial space companies—in particular SpaceX, which participates in both programs—underwent a positive shift after being debriefed by SpaceX venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson as part of his effort to obtain the signatures of nine Apollo astronauts on a photograph meant as a gift to SpaceX founder Elon Musk to commemorate the first successful SpaceX cargo mission to the ISS in 2012. Eventually, Cernan was won over and signed the photograph; "As I told him these stories of heroic entrepreneurship, I could see his mind turning." Jurvetson wrote; "He found a reconciliation: 'I never read any of this in the news. Why doesn't the press report on this?'"{{cite web|url=http://www.spacepolitics.com/2012/07/12/apollo-astronauts-spacex-and-a-special-photo/ |title=Apollo astronauts, SpaceX, and a special photo |access-date=January 17, 2017 |date=July 12, 2012 |publisher=Space Politics }}

Cernan gave a eulogy at Armstrong's funeral in 2012.{{cite web |title=Eugene Cernan - Eulogy for Neil Armstrong |url=https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/genecernaneulogyneilarmstrong.htm |website=www.americanrhetoric.com |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200215052038/https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/genecernaneulogyneilarmstrong.htm |archive-date=February 15, 2020 |date=2012 |url-status=live}}{{Cite web |date=November 22, 2012 |title=User Clip: Eugene Cernan's eulogy to Neil Armstrong |url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4165987/user-clip-eugene-cernans-eulogy-neil-armstrong |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240528193701/https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4165987/user-clip-eugene-cernans-eulogy-neil-armstrong |archive-date=May 28, 2024 |website=www.c-span.org }}

In 2014, Cernan appeared in the documentary The Last Man on the Moon, made by British filmmaker Mark Craig and based on Cernan's 1999 memoir of the same title.{{Cite news |last=Heithaus |first=Harriet Howard |date=November 2, 2015 |title=Mark Craig, moonwalk film director, recalls it |url=https://archive.naplesnews.com/special/film-festival/mark-craig-moonwalk-film-director-recalls-it-233d9702-af05-0a99-e053-0100007fdbd3-339461981.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220629181333/https://archive.naplesnews.com/special/film-festival/mark-craig-moonwalk-film-director-recalls-it-233d9702-af05-0a99-e053-0100007fdbd3-339461981.html |archive-date=June 29, 2022 |access-date=June 11, 2016 |newspaper=Naples Daily News }} The film received the Texas Independent Film Award from Houston Film Critics Society and the Movies for Grownups Award from AARP The Magazine.{{cite web|title=AARP Movies for Grown Ups Award |url=http://thelastmanonthemoon.com/blog/details/15610/aarp-movies-for-grown-ups-award |publisher=The Last Man on the Moon |access-date=June 11, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624112453/http://thelastmanonthemoon.com/blog/details/15610/aarp-movies-for-grown-ups-award |archive-date=June 24, 2016 }}{{cite web|title=Houston Film Critics Award |url=http://thelastmanonthemoon.com/blog/details/15611/houston-film-critics-award |publisher=The Last Man on the Moon |access-date=June 11, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624103548/http://thelastmanonthemoon.com/blog/details/15611/houston-film-critics-award |archive-date=June 24, 2016 }}

=Personal life=

Cernan was married twice and had one daughter. His first wife was Barbara Jean Atchley, a flight attendant for Continental Airlines, whom he married in 1961. They had one daughter, Tracy (born in 1963). The couple separated in 1980 and divorced in 1981. They remained friends.{{cite web|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/science/astronaut-eugene-cernans-regrets-after-7729628 |title=Astronaut Eugene Cernan's regrets after being the last man to walk on the Moon |date=April 10, 2016 |publisher=Mirror |access-date=January 19, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202113654/http://www.mirror.co.uk/science/astronaut-eugene-cernans-regrets-after-7729628 |archive-date=February 2, 2017 }} His second marriage was to Janis Ellen "Nanna" Cernan (née Jones; 1939–2021), which lasted for nearly 30 years from 1987 until his death. Cernan gained two step-daughters, Kelly and Danielle.{{cite web|url=http://www.jconline.com/story/news/2017/01/16/astronaut-purdue-grad-gene-cernan-dead-82/96643970/ |title=Astronaut, Purdue grad Gene Cernan dead at 82 |access-date=May 26, 2017 |date=January 16, 2017 |publisher=Journal and Courier |last1=Ervin |first1=Jeremy }}

==Death==

Cernan died in a hospital in Houston on January 16, 2017, at the age of 82.{{cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/astronautprofiles/cernan |title=Remembering Gene Cernan |date=January 16, 2017 |publisher=NASA |access-date=January 16, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116201708/https://www.nasa.gov/astronautprofiles/cernan/ |archive-date=January 16, 2017 }} His funeral was held at St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Houston.{{cite news |author= |title=Hundreds attend Gene Cernan's funeral |url=http://www.khou.com/news/local/hundreds-attend-gene-cernans-funeral/392302810 |work=KHOU |date=January 24, 2017 |access-date=June 9, 2018 |archive-date=February 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202025036/http://www.khou.com/news/local/hundreds-attend-gene-cernans-funeral/392302810 |url-status=dead }} He was buried with full military honors at Texas State Cemetery, the first astronaut to be buried there, in a private service on January 25, 2017.{{cite news|last1=Flores |first1=Nancy |title=Astronaut Gene Cernan to be buried at Texas State Cemetery |url=http://www.mystatesman.com/news/local/astronaut-gene-cernan-buried-texas-state-cemetery/M2NHi8GEhnKm9nzJSF4VpJ/ |access-date=January 19, 2017 |work=Austin American-Statesman |date=January 17, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202095523/http://www.mystatesman.com/news/local/astronaut-gene-cernan-buried-texas-state-cemetery/M2NHi8GEhnKm9nzJSF4VpJ/ |archive-date=February 2, 2017 }}{{cite news|last1=Newton |first1=Noelle |title=Former Astronaut Gene Cernan buried at State Cemetery |url=http://www.fox7austin.com/news/local-news/231754850-story |access-date=January 26, 2017 |work=Fox News |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170126031808/http://www.fox7austin.com/news/local-news/231754850-story |archive-date=January 26, 2017 }}

Organizations

Cernan was a member of several organizations, including Fellow, American Astronautical Society; member, Society of Experimental Test Pilots; member, Tau Beta Pi (National Engineering Society), Sigma Xi (National Science Research Society), Phi Gamma Delta (National Social Fraternity), and The Explorers Club.

Awards and honors

Naval Aviator Astronaut Insignia
Navy Distinguished Service Medal, Gold star device in lieu of second award
Distinguished Flying Cross
National Defense Service Medal
NASA Distinguished Service Medal
NASA Exceptional Service Medal
Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy, 2007{{cite web| url = https://naa.aero/awards/awards-and-trophies/wright-brothers-memorial-trophy/wright-bros-2000-2009-winners | title = Wright Bros. 2000-2009 Recipients | publisher = National Aeronautic Association | access-date = December 7, 2017 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171208122457/https://naa.aero/awards/awards-and-trophies/wright-brothers-memorial-trophy/wright-bros-2000-2009-winners | archive-date = December 8, 2017}}
U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame{{cite web|url=http://astronautscholarship.org/astronauts/astronaut-hall-of-fame/ |title=U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame |access-date=January 17, 2017 |publisher=Astronaut Scholarship Foundation |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161015210623/http://astronautscholarship.org/astronauts/astronaut-hall-of-fame/ |archive-date=October 15, 2016 }}{{Cite news |last=Clark |first=Amy |date=March 14, 1993 |title=Activities Honor Gemini Astronauts |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/florida-today/33582881/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240528194036/https://www.newspapers.com/article/florida-today/33582881/ |archive-date=May 28, 2024 |location=Cocoa, Florida |page=41 |via=Newspapers.com |newspaper=Florida Today }}
{{flag|Slovakia}}: Grand Officer (or 2nd Class) of the Order of the White Double Cross (September 25, 1994).Slovak republic website, [http://www.slovak-republic.org/symbols/honours/ State honours] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413004835/http://www.slovak-republic.org/symbols/honours/ |date=April 13, 2016 }} : 2nd Class (click on "Holders of the Order of the 2nd Class White Double Cross" to see the holders' table)
Great American Award, The All-American Boys Chorus, 2014.{{cite web|url=http://www.ocregister.com/articles/moon-640867-space-last.html |title=Moon's last visitor comes to town |access-date=January 17, 2017 |date=November 4, 2014 |publisher=The Orange Country Register |last1=Graham |first1=Jordan |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150104044815/http://www.ocregister.com/articles/moon-640867-space-last.html |archive-date=January 4, 2015 }}
Cernan was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum in 2007.{{cite web|url=http://sandiegoairandspace.org/blog/article/mourning-the-loss-of-gene-cernan |title=Mourning the loss of Gene Cernan|access-date=August 8, 2017}}
Orbital ATK announced the naming of its Cygnus CRS OA-8E Cargo Delivery Spacecraft the S.S. Gene Cernan in honor of Cernan in October 2017.{{cite web |title=S.S. Gene Cernan Fact Sheet |url=https://www.orbitalatk.com/news-room/feature-stories/oa8-mission-page/Documents/SS_Gene%20Cernan_Bio.pdf |website=Orbital ATK Newsroom |publisher=Orbital ATK |access-date=November 15, 2017 |date=October 21, 2017}} The S.S. Gene Cernan successfully launched to the International Space Station on November 12, 2017.{{cite web |title=Orbital ATK Successfully Launches Eighth Cargo Delivery Mission to the International Space Station |url=https://www.orbitalatk.com/news-room/release.asp?prid=306 |website=Orbital ATK News Room |publisher=Orbital ATK |access-date=November 15, 2017 |date=November 12, 2017 |archive-date=November 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171114034927/https://www.orbitalatk.com/news-room/release.asp?prid=306 |url-status=dead }}
In 2000, Eugene Cernan was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame.{{cite web |title=Enshrinee Eugene Cernan |url=https://nationalaviation.org/enshrinee/eugene-andrew-cernan/ |website=nationalaviation.org |publisher=National Aviation Hall of Fame |access-date=February 1, 2023}}

Cernan, along with nine of his Gemini astronaut colleagues, was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame in 1982.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28841417/albuquerque_journal/|title=Astronauts Laud Gemini as Precursor to Shuttle|last1=Shay|first1=Erin|newspaper=Albuquerque Journal|location=Albuquerque, New Mexico|date=October 3, 1982|page=3|via=Newspapers.com}}

In popular culture

File:Eugene Cernan lunar suit, NASM.JPG on display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.]]

On July 2, 1974, Cernan was a roaster of Don Rickles on The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast. At the end of the roast, Rickles—who attended the Apollo 17 launch—paid tribute to Cernan as a "delightful, wonderful, great hero".{{cite episode|series=Dean Martin Celebrity Roast|title=Don Rickles|season=1|date=February 7, 1974|station=NBC|number=17}}

In the 1998 Primetime Emmy Award-winning HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, Cernan was portrayed by Daniel Hugh Kelly.{{Cite news |last1=James |first1=Caryn |date=April 3, 1998 |title=Television Review; Boyish Eyes on the Moon |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/03/movies/television-review-boyish-eyes-on-the-moon.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231114070731/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/03/movies/television-review-boyish-eyes-on-the-moon.html |archive-date=November 14, 2023 |access-date=August 5, 2018 |work=The New York Times }}

The audio commentary for the Criterion Collection release of the film For All Mankind was recorded by Cernan and director Al Reinert in 1999.{{cite web |last1=Tyner |first1=Adam |title=For All Mankind |url=https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/37807/for-all-mankind/ |publisher=DVD Talk |access-date=January 7, 2024 |date=July 6, 2009}}

Cernan was featured in the Discovery Channel's 2008 documentary miniseries When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions, talking about his involvement and missions as an astronaut.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/06/arts/television/06eart.html |title=50 Years of NASA's Home Movies |newspaper=The New York Times |last1=Schwartz |first1=John |date=June 6, 2008 |access-date=January 17, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170118143040/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/06/arts/television/06eart.html |archive-date=January 18, 2017 }}

A popular belief is that Cernan wrote his daughter's initials on a rock on the Moon, Tracy's Rock. The story, and Cernan's relationship with his daughter, was later adapted into "Tracy's Song" by pop-rock band No More Kings. The story is inaccurate, as Cernan wrote her initials in the dust, not on a rock. He states in the 2014 documentary The Last Man on the Moon{{Cite news |last=Cofield |first=Calla |date=February 26, 2016 |title='Last Man on the Moon' Documentary Brings Space Exploration Home |url=https://www.space.com/32045-last-man-on-moon-documentary-review.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203075500/https://www.space.com/32045-last-man-on-moon-documentary-review.html |archive-date=December 3, 2023 |work=Space.com }} that he wrote them in the lunar dust as he left the rover to return to the LM and Earth.{{cite news|url= https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-12-05/last-man-on-moon-left-camera-behind-regrets-nasa-s-fade |title=Last Man on Moon Left Camera Behind, Regrets NASA's Fade |newspaper=Bloomberg.com |date=December 4, 2012 |access-date=June 19, 2016 |publisher=Bloomberg |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160622070937/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-12-05/last-man-on-moon-left-camera-behind-regrets-nasa-s-fade |archive-date=June 22, 2016 }} The true story of leaving the initials on the lunar surface was prominently mentioned in "The Last Walt", a 2012 episode of Modern Family.{{cite episode|title=The Last Walt|episode-link=The Last Walt|series=Modern Family|series-link=Modern Family|network=ABC|date=April 18, 2012|season=3|number=20|minutes=16:45 |quote=When he was leaving the Moon he reached down and wrote his daughter's initials into the lunar surface.}}

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.{{cite magazine|url= http://consequenceofsound.net/2013/05/watch-dj-falcon-discuss-new-daft-punk-album-sampling-nasa-space-missions/ |title=Watch DJ Falcon discuss new Daft Punk album, sampling NASA space missions |magazine=Consequence of Sound |date=May 7, 2013 |access-date=May 14, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130607180616/http://consequenceofsound.net/2013/05/watch-dj-falcon-discuss-new-daft-punk-album-sampling-nasa-space-missions/ |archive-date=June 7, 2013 }} Cernan's last words from the lunar surface, along with Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt's recollections, were used by the band Public Service Broadcasting for the song "Tomorrow", the final track of their 2015 album The Race for Space.{{cite web|url=http://therevue.ca/2015/02/19/public-service-broadcasting-the-race-for-space/ |title=Public Service Broadcasting - The Race For Space |publisher=therevue.ca |date=February 15, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150902113525/http://therevue.ca/2015/02/19/public-service-broadcasting-the-race-for-space/ |archive-date=September 2, 2015 }}

The Apple TV+ show For All Mankind dramatizes the Moon landings. The fictional main character draws comparisons to and shares similarity with the commander of the Apollo 17 mission, Gene Cernan.{{Cite magazine |last=Sepinwall |first=Alan |date=October 31, 2019 |title='For All Mankind' Review: Apple Leaps Into NASA Fan Fiction |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-reviews/for-all-mankind-apple-review-903760/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408155616/https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-reviews/for-all-mankind-apple-review-903760/ |archive-date=April 8, 2023 |access-date=March 19, 2021 |magazine=Rolling Stone }}

References

External links

[https://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip_15-tm71v5cv70 Interview with Gene Cernan for NOVA series: To the Moon] WGBH Educational Foundation, raw footage, 1998
[http://www.eaglelander3d.com/cernan.html Gene Cernan flies the Windows-based "Eagle Lander 3D" Simulator] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150411042319/http://www.eaglelander3d.com/cernan.html |date=April 11, 2015 }}
[http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/C/Cernan.html Cernan at Encyclopedia of Science]
[http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/Cernan-Helo-1971.htm Check-Six.com - The 1971 Crash of Gene Cernan's Helo]
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