If everything goes the way it is supposed to, a robotic lunar lander launched in the early morning hours Thursday, next week, on February 22nd. George Washington’s birthday will become the first American spacecraft to land on the moon’s surface since the Apollo moon landing in 1972.
If the private company in charge succeeds in its mission and reportedly at a cost much lower than a traditional NASA mission, it could open the door to wider exploration of the moon and even commercial flights.
It was 52 years ago, that Apollo 17, the final NASA landing on the moon when American astronauts walked on the surface of the moon for the last time.
An already experienced astronaut at the time, Eugene Cernan, became known as the Last Man on the Moon, and the name of his autobiography and a film documentary.
Cernan died in 2017, at the age of 82. But his words left behind have become a legacy of the past and a hope for the future.
Cernan once said, 'I've been tired of being called the end. Apollo 17 is not the end. It's just the beginning of a whole new era in the history of mankind.
And Eugene Cernan’s last words on the moon, spoken on December 14, 1972, were these:
“As we leave the moon…we leave as we came and, God willing, as we shall return with peace and hope for all mankind.”
Words from 52 years ago, that we certainly can use now in the troubled world in which we live today.
(Photo Getty Images)