Gene Cernan

• 1. Chicago Roots And Purdue Years

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  Eugene Andrew Cernan was born on the 14th of March 1934, in Chicago, Illinois. His father Andrew George Cernan came from Slovak descent while his mother Rose Cernan held Czech ancestry. He grew up in the nearby towns of Bellwood and Maywood where he earned a Second Class rank as a Boy Scout. After attending McKinley Elementary School, he graduated from Proviso Township High School in Maywood in 1952. Cernan studied at Purdue University and served as treasurer of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. He also led the Quarterdeck Society and the Scabbard and Blade organization. A partial Navy ROTC scholarship required him to serve aboard ship between his junior and senior years. In 1956, Cernan received a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering with a final GPA of 5.1 out of 6.0.

• 2. Naval Wings And Jet Hours

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  Cernan was commissioned as a U.S. Navy Ensign through the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps at Purdue. He initially stationed on an unspecified vessel before changing to active duty for flight training. The training took place across multiple bases including Whiting Field in Florida and Barron Field in Texas. He flew T-28 Trojan, T-33 Shooting Star, and F9F Panther aircraft during this period. Upon completion of his assignment in NAS Miramar, California, he finished his education in 1963 at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. There he earned a Master of Science degree in aeronautical engineering. During his naval career, Cernan logged more than 5,000 hours of flying time. This total included 4,800 hours specifically in jet aircraft. He also made at least 200 successful landings on aircraft carriers while serving as a fighter pilot.

• 3. Gemini Crisis And Spacewalk Struggle

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  In October 1963, NASA selected Cernan as one of the third group of astronauts. He was originally selected with Thomas Stafford as backup pilot for Gemini 9. When the prime crew of Elliot See and Charles Bassett died in the crash of NASA T-38A 901 at Lambert Field, Missouri, on the 28th of February 1966, the backup crew became the prime crew. This marked the first time in NASA history such a change occurred. Gemini 9A encountered numerous problems including an exploded target vehicle during launch. The planned docking became impossible due to a protective shroud failure. Cernan performed the second American EVA which was the third-ever spacewalk. Overexertion caused by a lack of limb restraints prevented testing of the Astronaut Maneuvering Unit. This forced the early termination of the spacewalk before all objectives could be met.

• 4. Apollo Reconnaissance And Lunar Command

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  Cernan moved into the Apollo rotation as commander of his own mission after declining a spot on Apollo 16. He chose to risk missing a flight for the opportunity to command his own crew on Apollo 17. Escalating budget cutbacks brought future missions into question after Apollo 18 and Apollo 19 were cancelled in September 1970. In August 1971, NASA named Harrison Schmitt as the lunar module pilot for Apollo 17. Cernan fought to keep his crew together and eventually flew with Schmitt. During three days of surface activity from December 11 to 14, 1972, they performed three EVAs totaling about 22 hours. They covered more than 35 kilometers using the Lunar Roving Vehicle. Their first EVA alone lasted more than three times longer than the time Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin spent outside on Apollo 11. Cernan piloted the rover on its final sortie recording a maximum speed that gave him an unofficial lunar land speed record.

• 5. Final Words And Last Footsteps

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  As Cernan prepared to climb the ladder for the final time he spoke words currently the last spoken by a human being standing on the lunar surface. His status as the last person to walk on the Moon means Purdue University is the alma mater of both the first person to walk on the Moon and the most recent. He is one of only three astronauts to travel to the Moon twice along with Jim Lovell and John Young. He is also one of twelve people to have walked on the Moon. Cernan wrote his daughter's initials in the dust not on a rock as popular belief suggests. He states in the 2014 documentary The Last Man on the Moon that he wrote them in the lunar dust as he left the rover to return to the LM and Earth. This true story was prominently mentioned in The Last Walt episode of Modern Family in 2012.

• 6. Private Business And Public Voice

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  In 1976, Cernan retired from the Navy with the rank of captain and went into private business. He became Executive Vice President of Coral Petroleum Inc before starting his own company The Cernan Corporation in 1981. In 1981 and 1982, Cernan joined Frank Reynolds and Jules Bergman on ABC coverage of the first three Space Shuttle launches. From 1987 he contributed to ABC News and the weekly segment Breakthrough of its Good Morning America program. In 1999, with co-author Donald A. Davis, he published his memoir The Last Man on the Moon about his naval and NASA career. Cernan and Neil Armstrong testified before U.S. Congress in 2010 in opposition to the cancellation of the Constellation program. Such companies like SpaceX which participates in both programs underwent a positive shift after being debriefed by Steve Jurvetson. Eventually Cernan was won over and signed a photograph meant as a gift to SpaceX founder Elon Musk.