Eugene Andrew "Gene" Cernan (/ˈsər.nən/; born March 14, 1934), (Capt, USN, Ret.), is an American former naval officer and aviator, electrical engineer, aeronautical engineer, fighter pilot, and NASA astronaut. He has been into space three times: 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.On Apollo 17, Cernan became the eleventh person to walk on the Moon and the last man on the Moon since he was the last to re-enter the Lunar Module Challenger after the mission's third and final extra-vehicular activity (EVA). (Crewmate Harrison Schmitt was the last man to arrive on the Moon, as Cernan left the module first.) Cernan was also a backup crew member for the Gemini 12, Apollo 7 and Apollo 14 space missions.
Naval Postgraduate School (1963), Purdue University (1956), Proviso East High School
Nationality
American
Spouse
Jan Nanna Cernan (m. 1987), Barbara Jean Atchley (m. 1961–1981)
Children
Teresa Dawn Cernan
Parents
Andrew G. Cernan
Movies
The Last Man on the Moon
TV Shows
When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions, Rocket Science
Star Sign
Pisces
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Quote
1
[often, to people looking at his photographs from space] If you look closely, you can you see your house.
2
It's an overwhelming experience to watch a sunset on the east coast of the United States and the sun rise on the east coast of Australia, almost at the same instant.
3
You find the Earth is revolving, very mysteriously and yet very majestically, on an axis you can't see. All of a sudden, as the Earth turns, you look at Australia and Asia and Europe and the entire continent of Africa. You can look from the icebergs of the north to the snow-covered mountains of the pole at the south. It's just an awe-inspiring, overpowering experience.
4
And then you get to the Moon, and all of a sudden, for the first time, you're standing on something that is not Earth. You can climb the highest mountain of this planet of ours, or swim to the depths of the deepest ocean, and you're still on planet Earth. But when you go to the Moon, you're on another body in this universe; it's solid, and you can walk on it. And then you look over your shoulder, and you're surrounded not by a blue sky, but by a black sky. You're in sunlight, surrounded by the blackest black you can conceive in your mind. No one confused the blackness with darkness; it's a blackness that is the endlessness of space and time. And the Earth is three-dimensional in this blackness; it's dynamic and alive. It captures you, but you don't understand it; you can't show it to anybody, but you know it exists, because you saw it with your own eyes. Science and technology got you there, but it's like you're standing on a plateau where science has met its match.
5
[about the Apollo 17 launch being the first to occur at night] In order to get to where you want to land in December, and get the sun behind you at the proper angle when you land, it required us to launch at night. There had never been a manned flight launching at night, so we started out with a big bang. That night launch was one of the more phenomenal things people remember about Apollo 17. I heard all kinds of descriptions of what it was like, such as, "It was like a thousand suns." They could see it from Miami to Atlanta, up and down the coast.
6
Houston, the Challenger has landed! (Dec. 6, 1972, from the Moon)
7
As I step off at the surface of Taurus-Littrow, I'd like to dedicate the first steps of Apollo Seventeen to all those who made it possible. Oh, my golly. Unbelievable. (Dec. 6, 1972, from the Moon)
8
[about gravity on the Moon] There have been a number of people in zero gravity, but only 12 people have ever experienced one-sixth gravity. It's a totally different world. I love one-sixth gravity. If I could turn Earth gravity into one-sixth gravity, I would!
9
[about the Lunar Rover] Driving that car was really something. You hit a little pothole and you've got one wheel off the ground half the time. It really allowed us to go places that we never would have been able to get to if we had to walk. The valley we landed in was about 20 miles long and about five miles across. The mountains that surrounded it just towered above everything else. We were able to cover that whole valley with the lunar rover.
10
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.
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Fact
1
For the launch of Apollo 17, by sundown on Dec. 6, 1972, about 700,000 people had gathered to witness the historic launch. More than fifty of Cernan's personal friends were there by invitation, including celebrities such as John Wayne, Connie Stevens, Bob Hope, Don Rickles, Dinah Shore, Johnny Carson, and Eva Gabor.
2
Flew one Gemini and two Apollo flights twice going to the moon. Gemini 9 was scheduled to dock with an Agena target vehicle, but the protective shroud did not eject making it look like "an angry alligator" according to fellow astronaut Thomas P. Stafford. Flying again with Thomas P. Staffordand John Young, the crew flew to the moon on Apollo 10 without landing. The lunar module's call sign was Snoopy while the command module was called Charlie Brown. He commanded Apollo 17 flying with Harrison Schmitt and Ron Evans staying on the moon for three days becoming the last Americans to walk the moon to date. Their lunar module was Challenger while Ron Evans circled the moon in America.
3
Moonwalker (Apollo 17, December 1972). Last man to take his foot off the moon's surface. As a result his autobiography is called "Last Man on the Moon".
4
One of only three men to have visited the moon twice. Once from Orbit (Apollo 10) and the second time landing (Apollo 17, which he commanded). The others are Jim Lovell and John Young.
5
Two stepdaughters from second marriage, Kelly & Danielle.
6
One daughter from first marriage, Teresa Dawn, known as "Tracy", born 4 March 1963. He claims to have written her initials in the lunar dust just before leaving the Moon. Two grandchildren.
7
Crew member on Gemini 9 (1966), Apollo 10 (1969), and Apollo 17 (1972) missions.
8
Astronaut.
Writer
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Last Man on the Moon
2014
Documentary story
Miscellaneous
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Wonder of It All
2007
Documentary archive stills
Thanks
Title
Year
Status
Character
In Search of Liberty Bell 7
1999
TV Movie documentary special thanks - as Capt. Eugene Cernan
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Larry King Now
2016
TV Series
Himself - Guest
Suit Up: 50 Years of Spacewalks
2015
Short
Himself (as Gene Cernan)
Flying the Feathered Edge: The Bob Hoover Project
2014
Documentary
The Last Man on the Moon
2014
Documentary
Eugene Cernan
Lou Dobbs Tonight
2014
TV Series
Himself - Former NASA Astronaut
Rise Above the Mark
2014
Documentary
Himself
Huckabee
2013
TV Series
Himself
America's Newsroom
2013
TV Series
Himself - Former Astronaut
Fox News
2012
TV Series
Himself
Fox Report
2012
TV Series
Himself
One Giant Leap: A Neil Armstrong Tribute
2012
TV Movie documentary
Himself
La fin des astronautes?
2012
TV Movie documentary
Himself - Astronaute
Stargazing Live
2012
TV Series
Himself
Moonbug
2010
Documentary
The Apollo Years
2009
Video
Himself
When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions
2008-2009
TV Mini-Series documentary
Himself / Himself - Apollo 17 / Himself - Apollo 10 / ...
Hannity
2009
TV Series
Himself
NASA: Triumph and Tragedy
2009
TV Series documentary
Himself - Apollo 17 / Himself - Apollo 10
60 Minutes
2008
TV Series documentary
Himself - Astronaut (segment "A Bigger Leap for Mankind")
The Sky at Night
1982-2007
TV Series documentary
Himself
The Wonder of It All
2007
Documentary
Himself
In the Shadow of the Moon
2007
Documentary
Himself
Did We Go?
2005
Video documentary
Himself (as Cmdr. Gene Cernan)
America's Astronauts: Mercury to Apollo to Today
2005
TV Movie
Himself
Project Gemini: A Bridge to the Moon
2003
Video documentary
Himself
Failure Is Not an Option
2003
TV Movie documentary
Himself - Astronaut
Rocket Science
2002
TV Series documentary
Himself
Good Grief, Charlie Brown: A Tribute to Charles Schulz
2000
TV Special
Himself
95 Worlds and Counting
2000
TV Movie documentary
Himself (as Captain Gene Cernan)
The Planets
1999
TV Mini-Series documentary
Himself - Apollo 17 Astronaut
Destination: Mars
1996
TV Movie documentary
Himself
Turning Point
1996
TV Series documentary
Himself
CBS This Morning
1994
TV Series
Himself
Moon Shot
1994
TV Movie documentary
Himself - Astronaut (as Gene Cernan)
The Other Side of the Moon
1990
Documentary
Himself
For All Mankind
1989
Documentary
Narrator - Apollo 10, Apollo 17 (voice, as Eugene A. Cernan)
A Silver Odyssey: 25 Years of Houston Astros Baseball
1987
Video documentary
Himself
Spaceflight
1985
TV Series documentary
Himself
The Dean Martin Show
1974
TV Series
Himself
Apollo 17: Splashdown
1972
TV Movie
Himself - Apollo 17 Commander
Archive Footage
Title
Year
Status
Character
The NASA Moon and Mars Landing Hoaxes
2015
Video documentary short
Himself - Apollo 17 (uncredited)
The Flat Earth Conspiracy
2014
Video documentary
Himself - Apollo 17
Apollo Zero
2009
Documentary
Himself - Gemini 9A Pilot, Apollo 10 LMP, Apollo 17 CDR
60 Minutes
2008
TV Series documentary
Himself - Astronaut (segment "A Bigger Leap for Mankind")
What Happened on the Moon? - An Investigation Into Apollo
2000
Video documentary
Himself - Apollo 17 Astronaut (uncredited)
The Planets
1999
TV Mini-Series documentary
Himself
Target... Earth?
1980
Documentary
Himself
Known for movies
For All Mankind (1989) as Narrator - Apollo 10, Apollo 17
$5 Million
