Passages: Apollo commander Cernan remembered

Cernan, a former Navy pilot who was also a veteran of three space flights, began his spaceflight career with Gemini 9A on June 3, 1966, when, at age 32, he became the youngest astronaut to fly in space, and the second to complete a spacewalk. Cernan later piloted the Apollo 10 lunar module, descending to within 8 nautical miles of the lunar surface, later recalling in a 2007 NASA oral history interview that the mission had set the stage for the first steps on the moon.

“I kept telling Neil Armstrong that we painted that white line in the sky all the way to the moon, down to 47,000 feet, so he wouldn’t get lost and all he had to do was land. Made it sort of easy for him,” Cernan said.

In 1972 Cernan commanded Apollo 17, the sixth and final mission to the lunar surface, logging 22 hours and 6 minutes of lunar surface exploration with scientist-astronaut Harrison Schmitt, serenading the world watching from below with a duet, “I was strolling on the moon one day,” and departing with words that foreshadowed a mission he would embrace for the remainder of his life, pushing for continued exploration:

“We leave as we came, and, God willing, we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind,” Cernan said as he prepared to climb the ladder and depart. He later followed that up with an unscripted declaration, just before lighting the rocket for the ride home: “Let’s get this mother out of here.”

Cernan is survived by his second wife, the former Jan Nanna, and his daughter, Teresa Cernan Woolie, whose initials he drew in moon dust, a tribute likely to last for eons on the airless surface. Two stepdaughters, nine grandchildren, and Cernan’s sister, Dolores Riley, also survived him.

The family released a statement through NASA: “Our family is heartbroken, of course, and we truly appreciate everyone’s thoughts and prayers. Gene, as he was known by so many, was a loving husband, father, grandfather, brother, and friend,” the family said. “Even at the age of 82, Gene was passionate about sharing his desire to see the continued human exploration of space and encouraged our nation’s leaders and young people to not let him remain the last man to walk on the Moon.”

Email [email protected]