Chicago-Born Gene Cernan, Last Man On The Moon, Dies At 82

By Stephen Gossett in News on Jan 16, 2017 10:51PM

Gene Cernan, the last astronaut to walk on the moon, died on Monday, his family and NASA has confirmed.

Cernan was one of only three men to have flown twice to the moon. He did so as a crew member of Apollo 10 and 17, the latter of which he also commanded. The Apollo 17 mission still holds the record for “longest manned lunar landing flight, longest lunar surface extravehicular activities, largest lunar sample return, and longest time in lunar orbit,” according to NASA. Before those missions, he also piloted Gemini 9, where he became just the second American to walk in space.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden honored the late trailblazer in a statement:

"Gene Cernan… has passed from our sphere, and we mourn his loss. Leaving the moon in 1972, Cernan said, ‘As I take these last steps from the surface for some time into the future to come, I’d just like to record that America’s challenge of today has forged man’s destiny of tomorrow.’ Truly, America has lost a patriot and pioneer who helped shape our country's bold ambitions to do things that humankind had never before achieved."

Cernan’s family paid tribute on Monday saying in part in a statement, via NASA:

“Even at the age of 82, Gene was passionate about sharing his desire to see the continued human exploration of space and encouraged our nation's leaders and young people to not let him remain the last man to walk on the Moon."

Cernan was born in Chicago on March 14, 1934. He grew up in Bellwood and Maywood, attended Proviso East High School and graduated from Purdue University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Electrical Engineering. He became a Naval Aviator after college and later earned a Master of Science in Aeronautical Engineering, undaunted by the increasing demands of each successive move.

"My dad always used to say, 'Just go out and do your best. You're not going to be better than everyone at everything.' And he was right," Cernan said, according to NPR, "I wasn't. But he was also right one other time when he said, 'Someday you're going to surprise yourself. Just do your best and someday you're going to surprise yourself.'

Cernan claimed his space exploration during the Gemini and Apollo missions had a profound effect on his life and outlook, saying “when you leave the Earth, it's not only technologically different — it's philosophically different and it's spiritually different."

According to friends, Cernan hoped deeply that others would follow in his (literal) footsteps on the moon and strip him of his title as last moon on the lunar surface. ‘We truly are in an age of challenge,” Cernan said. “With that challenge comes opportunity. The sky is no longer the limit. The word impossible no longer belongs in our vocabulary. We have proved that we can do whatever we have the resolve to do. The limit to our reach is our own complacency.’