Gene Cernan, last man on the moon, dies

Former astronaut Gene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon, died today after suffering ongoing health problems. He was 82. Cernan commanded the Apollo 17 mission, his third space flight, when he and fellow astronaut Harrison “Jack” Schmitt landed on the lunar surface on Dec. 14, 1972. He spent three days on the moon, collecting specimens to bring back to Earth. Before climbing into the lunar module for the last time, Cernan scratched his only child’s initials in the dust. “We leave as we came and, God willing, as we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind,” Cernan said at the time. He later called that moment the brightest of his life. Back on Earth, Cernan never stopped advocating for more manned missions to the moon, telling Congress in 2011 he realized he would not live to see the next generations of Americans follow in his footsteps, which are still visible on the lunar surface. After retiring as an astronaut, Cernan worked for NASA and at an engineering firm that worked on NASA projects.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.