In the Footsteps of More Giants
Shadows of Taurus-Littrow …
I remember the last man to walk on the moon, Gene Cernan. He never imagined that it would take the United States this many years to return to the surface. But, it has. And until his last days on earth, Gene was committed to seeing another leave footprints in the fine dust of the lunar surface.
The Apollo 17 commander even challenged those next steps. He advocated for our return. He did not want to be the last. He wanted the mission, cut short by the end of the iconic Apollo era for budget reasons, to continue. The Apollo 18 capsule and launch vehicle, that was scheduled to follow, became instead a museum exhibit at Spaceport Florida’s Visitor’s Center, an exhibit I got the privilege of helping my friends from NASA, Chuck Hollinshead and Arnold Richmond.
Gene was the consummate space professional. An explorer, a fighter pilot. An adventurer. A space enthusiast. An American through-and-through. Gene was an easy-to-approach space explorer, a hero, with no pretense and tons of Americana coursing through his veins.
