Guinness World Records is sad to hear of the passing of Eugene “Gene” Cernan (USA), a passionate explorer of new horizons, and the last person to step foot on the moon’s surface.
In a statement, Cernan's family said the 82-year-old passed away on Monday following ongoing health issues. His death follows the passing in December of fellow NASA space pilot John Glenn.
Cernan stands as the record holder for being the Last man on the moon, having left a footprint on the lunar surface in 1972 as the commander of the Apollo 17 mission.
The mission famously saw Cernan stepped off the Moon's surface and boarded the lunar excursion vehicle, Challenger and was the last of six successful manned lunar landings.
He also stands as one of only three humans to travel to the Moon on two different occasions (the others being Jim Lovell and John Young), having been part of the Apollo 10 mission in 1969.
Upon leaving the moon back in 1972, Gene said, “As I take these last steps from the surface for some time into the future to come, I'd just like to record that America's challenge of today has forged man's destiny of tomorrow."
Gene spent a successful 13 years as a NASA astronaut, and was the second American to have walked in space.
Considering the narrow selection of 14 astronauts who were selected for the Apollo program, his title was truly an accomplishment.
With a degree in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University and enrollment into the Navy ROTC program, Cernan eventually grew to attain his Master of Science for Aeronautical Engineering for the US Naval Postgraduate School which lead to his decorated space career.
In addition to his title for last man to walk the moon, he and fellow spaceman Thomas Stafford, and John Young, held another, more light-hearted record title for First crew to shave in space; which took place during the Apollo 10 mission in 1969.
During the mission, they found the mechanical shaver developed by NASA inadequate, and resorted to old-fashioned razors and shaving cream.
Over recent years, Gene, who had retired from NASA in 1976, enjoyed a career as a TV commentator for flights of various space shuttles.
He is survived by his wife, three children and nine grandchildren. He is reported to have expressed on his deathbed his hope that America’s leaders would not let him remain the last man to walk on the Moon.
We at Guinness World Records hope to see his final wishes come true, and will always remember Gene as an extraordinary spaceman who made significant milestones in the field of exploration.
