Pointing home. The high-gain antenna of the Lunar Roving Vehicle points toward the distant Earth during the Apollo 17 exploration of the Moon. Astronaut Eugene Cernan, mission commander, is seen at bottom right. Apollo 17 was the last manned mission to the Moon, and was launched on 7 December 1972. Cernan and Harrison Schmitt stayed on the Moon for 75 hours, including three excursions on the surface totalling 22 hours. At the end of the stay, Cernan and Schmitt rejoined Ronald Evans in the orbiting command module for the journey home. Apollo 17 splashed down on 19 December 1972. Cernan had the honour of being the last man to stand on the Moon's surface.