The FReeper Foxhole Profiles Gene Cernan - Last Man On The Moon - Oct. 4th, 2004

www.jsc.nasa.gov ^

[SAMWolf]

The Apollo 17 Mission



The first phase of man's active exploration of the Moon came to an end with the Apollo 17 mission. Many questions about lunar science were answered during the intensive activity of the Apollo missions, but many more remain to be answered. Some of the unanswered questions will be answered in the future from data already returned but as yet not fully analyzed, and some will have to wait for data yet to be returned from instruments already in place on the lunar surface. Still other questions must await further exploration.


Apollo 17's lunar module Challenger

The basic objective of the Apollo 17 mission was to sample basin-rim highland material and adjacent mare material and investigate the geological evolutionary relationship between these two major units. Commander Eugene Cernan and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt, also a professional geologist, engaged in three moon walks for a total of 22 hours and 2 minutes. The Lunar Rover also experienced its first lunar fender bender.


Apollo 17 Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV)

Numerous individual investigations of surface and spatial features have been performed based on the Apollo 17 crew orbital observations and panoramic and metric camera photographs. The scope of these investigations has ranged from studies of the structure of individual craters to studies of the sequences of mare stratigraphy and mare ridges to studies of the solar corona and zodiacal light

Mission Objective



The lunar landing site was the Taurus-Littrow highlands and valley area. This site was picked for Apollo 17 as a location where rocks both older and younger than those previously returned from other Apollo missions and from the Luna 16 and 20 missions might be found.


Earthrise in Orbit on Apollo 17

The mission was the final in a series of three J-type missions planned for the Apollo program. These J-type missions can be distinguished from previous G and H-series missions by extended hardware capability, larger scientific payload capacity and by the use of the battery powered Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV).



Scientific objectives of the Apollo 17 mission included geological surveying and sampling of materials and surface features in a preselected area of the Taurus-Littrow region, deploying and activating surface experiments, and conducting inflight experiments and photographic tasks during lunar orbit and transearth coast (TEC). These objectives included: Deployed experiments such as the Apollo lunar surface experiment package (ALSEP) with a Heat Flow experiment, Lunar seismic profiling (LSP), Lunar surface gravimeter (LSG), Lunar atmospheric composition experiment (LACE) and Lunar ejecta and meteorites (LEAM). The mission also included Lunar Sampling and Lunar orbital experiments. Biomedical experiments included the Biostack II Experiment and the BIOCORE experiment.

Near The Moon On Snoopy


Neil Armstrong and Eugene Cernan

Though he only landed once, Cernan is one of only three men to travel to the Moon twice, with his first trip being aboard Apollo 10. This flight was the second Apollo mission to orbit the Moon, and the first to travel to the Moon with the full Apollo spacecraft, consisting of the Command and Service Module, named "Charlie Brown," and the Lunar Module, named "Snoopy." The primary objectives of the mission were to demonstrate crew, space vehicle and mission support facilities during a human lunar mission and to evaluate Lunar Module performance in cislunar and lunar environment. The mission was a full "dry run" for the Apollo 11 mission, in which all operations except the actual lunar landing were performed.

[SAMWolf]

Gene Cernan
Last Man On The Moon

Gene Cernan was the commander of Apollo 17, the last manned mission to land on the Moon.


Wearing Astronaut Hall of Fame medals, a white-haired Eugene Cernan strolls with Dick Gordon, another veteran of the Gemini and Apollo programs.

On the future of spaceflight:
Cernan said that it is vital to “inspire young people to reach out further than they thought they could reach before.” “The inspiration of our young people is truly what the future is all about,” he said.

He said that the Apollo program was “the greatest human endeavor” in history, because people came together with the dedication and willpower to achieve something unlike anything that ever had been done. “We need to get back into that Saturn V world mentality,” he said.


This is Gene Cernan as he was near the end of the third moonwalk of Apollo 17. He and astronaut-geologist Jack Schmitt had completed most of their work and were just gathering final equipment and samples, putting them aboard the lunar module. At this point, Gene turned toward the television camera and said, "Jack has picked up a very significant rock, composed of many fragments of many sizes and many shapes, probably from all parts of the Moon, probably billions of years old, but a rock of all sizes and shapes and even colors that had grown together to become a cohesive rock, outlasting the nature of space, sort of living together in a very coherent, very peaceful manner. We'd like to share a piece of this rock with many of the countries throughout the world. We hope that this will be a symbol of what our feelings are." Then they continued their preparations for leaving the Moon.
Alan Bean

On being the last man on the Moon:
“It’s a little disappointing and a dubious honor to be the last man to walk on the Moon.” Cernan said he believes, however, that the next generation will “take us back out there where we belong.” “Apollo 17 is what I called the end of the beginning, and the beginning is somewhat delayed right now,” he said.

On how things have changed since Apollo 17:
“I keep telling people today under the dashboard of your car is more technology than we had in the Apollo spacecraft.”


Gene Cernan 1997

On viewing the Earth from the Moon:
“It was something so awe-inspiring you had to sneak a glance at it every chance you got.” Cernan said that seeing the Earth from that vantage point convinced him it must have been created by a higher power. “It’s too beautiful to have happened by accident,” he said. “To me, it was like sitting on God’s back porch, looking back home.”



On walking on the Moon:
Even in daylight, Cernan said, the sky on the Moon was “the blackest blackness that you can imagine. The moon is gray and colorless, and the only color was what we brought with us,” he said. “It was an overwhelming experience,” Cernan said of the opportunity to do scientific research on the surface of the Moon. “I cannot imagine what it will be like for the first travelers that go to Mars.”



On becoming an astronaut:
Cernan said that he decided he wanted to become an astronaut when Alan Shepard became the first American in space. “This was hero worship,” he said. While he thought that all of the “pioneering” of the space program would be finished before he could ever become an astronaut, he tried his hardest, and was accepted. His hero worship was fulfilled years later, when he was named as Alan Shepard’s back-up commander for Apollo 14. By the time of that flight, Cernan actually had more spaceflight experience than Shepard. He said that it was an incredible experience for him to be standing beside his hero as an equal. He said that it’s important to always work hard for your dreams. “Keep plugging away, you never know when you’re going to be standing next to Al Shepard.”

Additional Sources:

www.nasaexplores.com
liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov
www.alanbeangallery.com
www.lpi.usra.edu
science.ksc.nasa.gov
antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov
www.nasm.si.edu
www.davidaerickson.com
www.astronautix.com
www.cnn.com
www.iolky.com
news.bbc.co.uk
www.spacemissions.de
www.myspacemuseum.com
home.planet.nl
news.uns.purdue.edu
www.msnbc.com
www.median.ru

[SAMWolf]

'This is Gene and 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 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.'

-- Gene Cernan,
the last words spoken on the surface of the Moon.

[SAMWolf]

Veterans for Constitution Restoration is a non-profit, non-partisan educational and grassroots activist organization. The primary area of concern to all VetsCoR members is that our national and local educational systems fall short in teaching students and all American citizens the history and underlying principles on which our Constitutional republic-based system of self-government was founded. VetsCoR members are also very concerned that the Federal government long ago over-stepped its limited authority as clearly specified in the United States Constitution, as well as the Founding Fathers' supporting letters, essays, and other public documents.

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Actively seeking volunteers to provide this valuable service to Veterans and their families.

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UPDATED THROUGH APRIL 2004



The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul

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[snippy_about_it]

This is soooo cute. Good story today Sam. Thanks. Like your tagline, too.

[SAMWolf]

Good Night Snippy

[snippy_about_it]

Good night Sam.

[Aeronaut]

Good morning Snippy.

[alfa6]

A Van Morrison Bump for the Foxhole

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[snopercod]

Great story. Thanks Sam.

Is everybody watching "From the Earth to the Moon" on Dish Network? It's really good.

[E.G.C.]

Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Foxhole.

[The Mayor]

October 4, 2004

But If Not . . .

Read: Daniel 3:1-18

We do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up. —Daniel 3:18

Bible In One Year: Isaiah 20-22; Ephesians 6

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I recall a Sunday school lesson from nearly 40 years ago in which we were taught to love God in spite of our circumstances. Loving God is easy when He grants our requests and provides what we desire. Loving Him in difficult circumstances tests our faith.

In Daniel 3, we read of the life-and-death decision Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego had to make. If they chose to worship the golden image, they would live; if they refused, death was certain. They answered King Nebuchadnezzar: "Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace . . . . But if not, . . . we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up" (vv.17-18).

Were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego lacking in faith when they said "but if not"? No. They knew God was fully capable of delivering them from the fiery furnace.

There's a lesson in this for all of us. Is God all-powerful? Yes. Is He able to deliver us from all our problems? Yes. Does God always deliver us from our difficulties? No.

We may not fully comprehend God's purpose in our difficulty and suffering, but we must not cease to love Him. We must trust Him and hope in Him in spite of the trials that threaten to overwhelm us. —Albert Lee

I have learned to love my Savior,
And I trust Him more each day;
For no matter what the trial,
He will always be my stay. —Hess

Genuine faith stays strong when deliverance seems distant.

[manna]

Present!

[Valin]

On This Day In History



Birthdates which occurred on October 04:
1289 Louis X (the Stubborn) king of France (1314-16)
1626 Richard Cromwell lord protector of England (1658-59)
1809 Robert Cumming Schenck Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1890
1816 Egbert Benson Brown Brig General (Union volunteers), died in 1902
1822 Rutherford B Hayes (R) 19th pres (1877-81)
1850 John W McGraw (Gov-R-Wash) (1893-97)
1860 Sidney Paget illustrated Sherlock Holmes adventures
1861 Frederic Remington US, artist/sculptor of the American West
1880 Damon Runyon writer (Guys & Dolls-based on his work)
1889 John B Kelly Olympic champion rower/father of Grace Kelly
1892 Engelbert Dollfuss Austrian Fascist chancellor killed by Nazis
1894 Cliff Hall Brooklyn NY, actor (Crime Photographer)
1895 Buster Keaton actor (The Navigator, Steamboat Bill, Jr)
1895 Richard Sorge German spy for USSR in Tokyo (WW II)
1917 Jan Murray Bronx NY, comedian (Treasure Hunt, Who Killed Teddy Bear)
1922 Malcolm Baldrige Conn, US Secretary of Commerce (1981-87)
1923 Charlton Heston actor (10 Commandments, Ben Hur, Planet of the Apes)
1929 Leroy Van Dyke Spring Fork Mo, country singer (Walk on By)
1931 Dick Tracy comic strip crimestopper
1934 Sam Huff NFL linebacker (NY Giants, Washington Redskins)
1941 Lori Saunders Kansas City Mo (Petticoat Junction, Dusty Trails)
1941 Anne Rice New Orleans LA, author (Interview with a Vampire)
1943 Buddy Roemer (Gov-D-La)
1944 Patti LaBelle singer (LaBelles-Lady Marmalade)
1946 Susan Sarandon [Tomaling], Jackson Hgts NY, actress/political stooge (Bull Durham)
1949 Armand Assante NYC, actor (Private Benjamin, Unfaithfully Yours)
1960 Jennifer Anglin Adrian Mich, actress (Cheryl-General Hospital)
1961 David W Harper Abilene Tx, actor (Jim Bob-Waltons)

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Deaths which occurred on October 04:
1226 St. Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscans
1582 Theresa of Avila, Spanish mystic writer/saint, dies
1669 Rembrandt H van Rijn, painter/etcher
1904 Frederic Auguste Bertholdi French sculptor ("Statue of Liberty")
1947 Max Planck, German physicist ( Nobel 1918),
1962 John Lowry Mount Vernon NY, NYC builder, dies at 79
1966 Sherman Billingsley talk show host (Stork Club), dies at 66
1970 Janis Joplin rock singer, dies at 27
1972 Louis S B Leakey, archaeologist/anthropologist, dies at 68
1989 Graham Chapman, comedian (Monty Python), dies of cancer at 48
1991 Leonard C Odell wrote 7,000 Burma Shave poems, dies at 83

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Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1966 BURNS JOHN D. PENSACOLA FL.
[03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE & WELL 98]
1967 LILLUND WILLIAM A. FORTUNA CA.
1967 MC DANIEL MORRIS L. JR. FORT VALLEY GA.
1967 SCHOEFFEL PETER V. ALEXANDRIA VA.
[03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE IN 98]
1967 ZOOK DAVID H. JR. WEST LIBERTY OH.

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

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On this day...
1535 1st full English translation of the Bible printed in Switzerland
1539 King Henry VIII & Anna of Kleef marry
1582 Last day of the Julian calendar in Italy, many Catholic countries
1648 Peter Stuyvesant establishes Americas 1st volunteer firemen
1675 Christian Huygens patents pocket watch
1712 Utrecht banishes poor Jews
1777 Battle of Germantown
1795 General Napoleon Bonaparte leads the rout of counterrevolutionaries in the streets of Paris, beginning his rise to power (Gave them "A whiff of grapeshot”)
1824 Mexico becomes a republic
1830 Provisional government declares secession of Belgium from Netherlands
1854 Abraham Lincoln made his 1st political speech at Illinois State Fair
1862 Battle of Corinth ends
1864 National black convention meets (Syracuse NY)
1864 New Orleans Tribune, first black daily newspaper, forms
1883 Orient Express' 1st run, linking Turkey to Europe by rail
1900 Start of Sherlock Holmes adventure "The Problem of Thor Bridge" (BG)
1901 Columbia (US) beats Shamrock II (England) in 12th America's Cup
1906 Chicago Cubs win their 116th game (116-36) of the year
1910 Portugal becomes a republic, King Manuel II flees to England
1912 Nicaraguan Gen Zeledon, opponent of US occupation, is executed
1917 British assault on Broodseinde, France
1923 Young Stribling held light-heavyweight boxing championship for the shortest amount of time (3 hrs). Referee overturns the decision
1924 NY Giants become 1st team to appear in 4 consecutive World Series (World Series #21)
1926 Dahlia is officially designated as SF city flower
1931 The comic strip Dick Tracy by Chester Gould debuts
1939 Last Polish troops surrender
1940 Wrestling returns to Madison Sq Garden after 12 year lay off
1942 German assault on Tractor factory in Stalingrad
1949 American Contract Bridge League votes 58% to keep blacks out
1949 United Nations' permanent NYC headquarters is dedicated
1955 Brooklyn Dodgers only World Series victory, beating Yankees in 7 (World Series #52)
1955 Rev Sun Young Moon leaves prison in Seoul
1957 "Leave It to Beaver," debuts on CBS

1957 USSR launches Sputnik I, the 1st artificial Earth satellite

1958 5th French republic established
1958 Transatlantic coml jet passenger service began (BOAC)
1959 1st world series (World Series #56) game played west of St Louis (in LA)
1959 USSR Luna 3 sent back 1st photos of Moon's far side
1960 Courier 1B Launched; 1st active repeater satellite in orbit
1962 USAF Maj Robert A Rushworth takes X-15 to 32,300 m
1962 Whitey Ford's world series 33 2/3 scoreless inning streak ends World Series #59)
1963 Gambia achieves full internal self-government
1964 Patriots' Gino Cappelletti kicks 6-of-6 field goals against Broncos
1965 Pope Paul VI becomes 1st Pope to visit Western Hemisphere (UN)
1965 USSR launches Luna 7; crash lands on Moon
1966 Lesotho (Basutoland) gains independence from Britain (National Day)
1967 1st World Series since 1948 not to feature Yanks, Giants or Dodgers (World Series #64)
1969 UN starts issuing postage stamps at Geneva headquarters
1970 Herbert Schmidtz makes highest parachute jump from a tower by leaping from a 1,984 ft TV mast in Tulsa, Oklahoma
1971 Borden's opens a turn-of-century ice cream parlor at Disney World
1976 Agriculture Secretary Earl Butz resigns due to telling a racial joke
1978 Funeral services held for Pope John Paul I
1981 Pasakevi Kouna of Greece (9) is youngest intl gymnastics participant
1983 Richard Noble reaches record 1019 kph in jet-powered car
1984 US govt closes down due to budget problems
1985 Henry G Perry completes 157 day, 14,021 mile bicycle tour of Australia
1985 Shite Muslims claim to have killed hostage William Buckley
1987 1st "Scrub Sunday" of NFL football with replacement players
1988 Jim Bakker is indicted on federal charges.
1990 Regional elections held, in what was East Germany
1991 NHL NY Rangers trade Bernie Nichols to Edmonton for Mark Messier
1993 Troops of pres Yelsin occupy Russian White House (parliament)
1997 Hundreds of thousands of Christian men gathered on the Mall in Washington, D.C., to reaffirm their faith and to pledge to preserve the structure of the family.(Promise Keepers)

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Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Bangladesh : Shab I Barat
Lesotho : Independence Day (1966)
Missouri : Missouri Day (Monday)
World : Child Health Day, Universal Children's Day (1928) (Monday)
World Zoo day
National Pickled Pepper Week (Day 2)
National Cut Out Dissection Month

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Religious Observances
Unification Church : Day of Victory of Heaven
RC, Ang : Memorial of St Francis of Assisi, friar, confessor
Luth : Commemoration of Theodor Fliedner, renewer of society

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Religious History
1535 London printer Miles Coverdale, 47, published his English version of the Bible. A good translator who later served on two other translation committees, Coverdale was also popular as a Lutheran preacher.
1858 Birth of Dorothy Frances Gurney, English devotional writer. During her lifetime she published two volumes of verse, as well as a small devotional work entitled, 'A Little Book of Quiet.'
1867 In Southwest Africa, the Rhenish Missionary Church constituted itself as the Evangelical Lutheran Church.
1890 Death of Catherine Booth, 61, wife of Salvation Army founder William Booth. Her last words were: 'The waters are rising, but so am I. I am not going under but over. Do not be concerned about dying; go on living well, the dying will be right.'
1965 Paul VI arrived in New York City, making him the first pope in history to visit the United States. While speaking at the UN, Paul published a document exonerating the Jews of all blame in the death of Christ.

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

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Thought for the day :
"You can't deny laughter; when it comes, it plops down in your favorite chair and stays as long as it wants."

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Things You Wouldn't Hear a Southerner Say...
The tires on that truck are too big.

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Lesser Known Breeds of Dogs - Cross Breeds
Labrador Retriever + Curly Coated Retriever = Lab Coat Retriever, the choice of research scientists

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The Ultimate Scientific Dictionary...
Monomer:
One mer.

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Things you would like to say at work, but won't...
I will always cherish the initial misconceptions I had about you being competent

[chimera]

If one were to make a list of those with "the right stuff", Gene Cernan would probably be near the top of the list. The guy took on all the challenges presented him and just plowed through them. I had the honor of meeting his LMP Jack Schmitt at an awards banquet which recognized Jack's achievements in geology for the Apollo 17 mission, and he gave Gene the credit for a successful mission which was probably, along with Apollo 15, the most brilliant mission ever flown from a scientific viewpoint.

As this generation of explorers reaches the age at which many of them will pass from us, it is important that younger Americans remember and honor the achievements and bravery of those who have gone before them. Those were heady times, when it seemed like the national will and spirit was united behind a common cause. Can we regain that spirit as a nation? I'd like to think so, but sometimes wonder.

[Tax-chick]

Morning, everyone! Foggy in the Carolinas today, but at least there's no hurricane so far this week!

Apollo 17 ended with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean approximately 0.4 miles from the target point and 4.3 miles form the prime recovery ship USS TICONDEROGA.

Heh ... Dad was on the Tico when they picked up Apollo 17. He was also on the USS Ranger when she picked up one of the earlier space missions. Quite a coincidence ... I suppose the Navy was just smaller in those days!

[Tax-chick]

1890 Death of Catherine Booth, 61, wife of Salvation Army founder William Booth. Her last words were: 'The waters are rising, but so am I. I am not going under but over. Do not be concerned about dying; go on living well, the dying will be right.'

Catherine Booth died of breast cancer in terrible agony. She was an incredibly tough woman, and could more accurately be described as "co-founder of The Salvation Army." I recommend Blood and Fire, a very solid book about the Booths and their mission.

[Soaring Feather]

Good morning everyone!

[The Mayor]

Mornin Feather!