Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - Last Man on the Moon

Episode Date: October 30, 2020

Everyone knows that Neil Armstrong was the first person to step foot on the moon. But who was the last person on the moon? And why haven’t we ever sent anyone back to the moon? Learn more about the last person to set foot on the moon and the future of lunar exploration, or the lack thereof, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everyone knows that Neil Armstrong was the first person to step foot on the moon. But who is the last person on the moon? And why haven't we ever sent anyone back to the moon? Learn more about the last person to set foot on the moon and the past, present, and future of lunar exploration, or the lack thereof, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Fear is the virus is trending on TikTok. Vaccines are poison. Then your yoga teacher says that sex traffic children are being sacrificed by saturday. But it's all okay.

The great awakening is coming. What is happening? Every week on Conspiratuality Podcast, we explore the fever dreams that suck friends, family, and wellness gurus down the right-wing cult spiral in a search for salvation. This episode is sponsored by CuriosityStream. If you love to follow the space program, then you need to get a subscription to CuriosityStream. They have tons of documentaries about all aspects of spaceflight, and they are doing original programming on current space missions.

They have shows on the recent Osiris Rex mission, which gathered a sample from an asteroid, and from the recent flight of the SpaceX Dragon crew module. Prices start as low as $2.99 per month, or $1999 per year. That is a whole year of programming for the cost of a month and a half of other

streaming services. If you love to learn, and let's face it, you do if you're listening to this podcast, then start your subscription by visiting everything-everywhere.com slash curiosity stream. Or by clicking on the link in the show notes. Most things in life tend to reach their zenith near their conclusion. The Apollo program reached its zenith right at the beginning. The moment Neil Armstrong

stepped off the lunar lander, in most people's minds, the Apollo program was complete. John Kennedy set a goal of sending someone to the moon, and Apollo 11 completed it. However, the plan was for so much more. In the initial planning stages of the Apollo program, NASA ordered 15 Saturn 5 rockets, which would take them through Apollo 20. Two of the Saturn 5, were used in unmanned test flights for Apollo 4 and Apollo 6. Three of them were used on man test flights, Apollo 8 and 10, which flew into orbit around the moon, and Apollo 9, which took the first lunar module into Earth orbit. That left 10 Saturn 5 rockets for 10 flights to the moon.

Apollo 11 flew in January, 1969, and Apollo 12 in November of 1969. The plan was to launch missions about four months apart through 1972, which would take them through Apollo 20. However, on January 4th, 1970, NASA announced the cancellation of Apollo 20, so their Saturn 5 could be used to launch Skylab, NASA's first space station. In April 1970, Apollo 13 launched and famously didn't land on the moon. I'll refer everyone to Tom Hanks' film with the same name to give you an overview of what happened on that mission. After the Apollo 13 debacle, people simply lost interest in the moon, and Congress didn't

see the point of any more Apollo missions. They had won the space race, and there wasn't any interest in science or first. exploration. In September 1970, NASA announced that two more missions were going to be cut. Apollo 18 and 19 were canceled, and the rest of the missions had to be rescheduled and renumbered. Apollo 14 was already set, and that really couldn't be messed with. It launched on January 1971. The remaining three missions were fast-tracked. These were going to be what were called J missions, which were scheduled to start with Apollo 16. They would have lunar rovers and allowed for longer stays in the moon. These missions, although most people have forgotten about them, were really the highlight of

the Apollo program. If you've ever seen large, detailed images from the Apollo program or higher quality video, it probably came from one of the J missions. Apollo 15 launched in July 1971, and it was the first time the lunar rover was used on the moon. Apollo 16 flew in April 1972 and spent three days on the surface with 20 hours out walking around in EVAs or extra vehicular activity. The final Apollo mission was launched on December 7, 1972. The crew consisted of commander Eugene Sernan, lunar module pilot Harrison Schmidt, and command module pilot Ronald Evans. Schmidt was different than all the other astronauts. He wasn't a test pilot, and he wasn't even in the military. He was a civilian with a Ph.D. in geology who attended Caltech and Harvard.

When Apollo 18 was canceled, the scientific community lobbied to get him moved to the last Apollo flight, and he was put on the mission so at least one scientist would make it to the moon. The commander, Gene Cernan, had more of a traditional background for an astronaut. He was a Navy pilot who flew in Gemini 9, and he had previously been to the moon on Apollo 10, but he didn't land or walk on the surface. He is one of only three people to have traveled to the moon more than once. The Apollo 17 mission was the longest Apollo mission yet. They landed on the moon on December 11th and had three extended EVAs.

Sernan and Harris spent 23 hours on the surface between the three EVAs, which was a record for any Apollo mission. They traveled over 35 kilometers on their lunar rover, which was also an Apollo record, and they collected 110.4 kilograms of moon rock that they brought back, also a record. At the end of their final EVA, Harrison climbed back into the lunar module, and Cernan followed behind. Before he climbed up the ladder, however, he said the following, quote, 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 just like to say that I believe history will record that America's challenge today has forged man's destiny of tomorrow. And as we leave the moon at Torres Litro, 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. End quote. that, on October 15, 1972, Gene Cernan became the last person to walk on the moon. The words I quoted above were actually the last words spoken while standing on the moon.

Technically, the last words spoken before they blasted off back to Earth were, let's get this mother out of here, also spoken by Cernan. On the way back to Earth, they had a call with the President of the United States, Richard Nixon. Nixon told the astronauts, this may be the last time in this century that men will walk on the moon. This infuriated the astronauts and others back at NASA, but his words were prophetic. Since Apollo 17, 48 years ago, no one has gone back to the moon. Of the 12 men from the six missions which landed on the moon, only four of them survive. They now range in age from 85 to 90.

Gene Sernan passed away in 2017 at the age of 82. Harrison Schmidt was elected to the United States Senate from New Mexico, and he still lives there today. The big question is if other people will walk on the moon before we lose the last of the moonwalkers. China announced the desire to land someone on the moon, but today they haven't really taken any firm steps to make that happen. NASA announced Project Artemis, which is supposed to land astronauts back on the moon in the year 2024. They hope to start launching tests in 2021, and they've already begun work in the development of lunar landers. The plan is to land a man and the first woman on the moon somewhere, near the lunar south pole.

The big problem, however, is money. Congress just isn't enthused about sending people to the moon. It's the same problem that plagued NASA back in the 1970s. Without funding, many space observers doubt that the 2024 deadline will be achievable. One solution being offered is to use private companies like SpaceX to get to orbit at a lower price and save money. Until Project Artemis gets more traction and probably more funding, we'll still be asking ourselves. If we can send someone to the moon, why can't we send someone to the moon?

Executive producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is James McAlla. Please remember to support the show over at patreon.com, where you can get exclusive merchandise and to leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Leave a five-star review to have your review read online.