Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Apollo 17’s Gene Cernan spoke some of the last words from the surface of the moon on December 14, 1972: “And, as we leave the Moon at Taurus-Littrow, we leave as we came and, God ...

The Artemis II launched from Florida, sending a crew of four astronauts on a mission around the moon, but before this could happen the Apollo 17 crew landed on the moon 50 years ago.

A Titusville resident shares vivid memories of witnessing the historic Apollo 11 and Apollo 17 launches from Florida.

In an X post, the space agency shared images captured by the 1972 Apollo 17 crew and the 2026 Artemis II astronauts.

The late Gene Cernan became the 11th person to walk on the moon in 1972 and was the last human to leave a footprint on its surface. In an unreleased clip from a 2013 documentary, Cernan left a message for future crews who planned to head out on a lunar mission.

NASA has released a slew of photos captured by the Artemis II crew as they hurtle through space toward the moon — including an updated version of the iconic “Blue Marble” shot snapped by the Apollo 17 crew more than 50 years ago.

Many things have changed since the 1960s. At 13:24:59 Central Standard Time on December 19 1972, the Apollo 17 command module splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, about 350 nautical miles south-east of Samoa, concluding the last mission to the Moon.