End of the Road

Apollo 17 commander Eugene Cernan test drives his Lunar Roving Vehicle before putting it to work during the final manned Moon mission in December 1972. Cernan and crewmate Harrison Schmitt, the only geologist ever to walk on the Moon, gathered more than 200 pounds of rocks and soil, while the third crewmember, Ron Evans, conducted observations from lunar orbit. Cernan took the final steps on the Moon on December 14, bringing an era of lunar exploration to an end. [NASA]