Ronald Ellwin Evans Jr. was an American naval officer and aviator, electrical engineer, aeronautical engineer, and NASA astronaut, also one of only 24 people to have flown to the Moon. Evans was selected as an astronaut by NASA as part of Astronaut Group 5 in 1966 and made his first and only flight into space as Command Module Pilot aboard Apollo 17 in 1972, the last manned mission to the Moon to date, with Commander Eugene Cernan and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt. During the flight, he orbited the Moon as his two crewmates descended to the surface. Consequently, he is the last person to orbit the Moon alone and holds the record for the most time spent in lunar orbit at 148 hours. In 1975 Evans served as backup Command Module Pilot for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission.

Saturn V | Apollo 17

National Aeronautics and Space Administration | USA
Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
Dec. 7, 1972, 5:33 a.m.

Status: Success

Mission:

Apollo 17 was the final mission of the Apollo program. The craft was crewed by Commander Eugene Cernan, Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt & Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans. The mission lasted for 12 days, 13 hours, 51 minutes and 59 seconds during which time Cernan & Schmitt spent 3 days on lunar surface completing three moonwalks to collect lunar samples and install scientific instruments on the surface. Apollo 17 was the last time human beings have gone beyond Low Earth Orbit.

Lunar Orbit

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