Eugene Cernan, born on March 14th, 1934, has a similar record to Neil Armstrong, but instead of being the first on the Moon, he was the last.

On the Apollo 17 mission (December 7-19, 1972), he and fellow crewman geologist, Harison Schmitt, logged over 22 hours on the Moon. The third crew member, Ronald Evans, was in orbit overhead.

Mankind's last words on the Moon did not have quite as much of a punch as the first did, but did have as much meaning. Cernan's words were, "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. God bless the crew of Apollo 17." Porky Pig's "A-bee, a-bee. That's all folks!" sign off had been suggested, but Cernan decided not to leave the moon in a humorous manner.

In Cernan's two previous missions, he had been pilot. On Gemini 9-A (June 3-6, 1966) and lunar module of Apollo 10, which flew within 10 miles of the surface.

Cernan was a former Navy pilot.