Wednesday marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 17 mission — the last one that put humans on the moon. NPR takes a look at the mission and what it means for future travel to our lunar companion.

Although the historic Apollo 11 mission made do with a 2.5-hour walkabout on the lunar surface, Apollo missions 15, 16, and 17 each had their own lunar buggy to drive around the moon’s powdery ...

The last time anyone drove on the Moon was way back in 1972 when the astronauts of Apollo 17 took the Lunar Roving Vehicle for one last spin. Now, NASA is plotting a return to the Moon’s surface ...

In all, the Apollo 17 crew spent 22 hours performing three “Extravehicular Activities” – moonwalks. Challenger carried a Lunar Roving Vehicle, commonly known as a “moon buggy”.With the ...

No one expected these glittering bits among the gray lunar dust back then. The beads, smaller than grains of sand, formed ...

50 Years After the Apollo 17 Mission, the Moon Looks Closer Than Ever. Astronauts from NASA said goodbye to the moon for the last time on Dec. 14, 1972.

Apollo 17 astronaut Gene Cernan driving the Moon buggy, December 11, 1972. Photo: NASA/Harrison Schmitt President Richard Nixon was ultimately responsible for downscaling NASA’s lunar ambitions.

Intuitive Machines unveils the next generation of NASA’s moon buggy. By Andrea Leinfelder, Staff writer Nov 7, 2024. ... But Schmitt didn’t like the design used on Apollo 17.