Gene Cernan, last to leave the moon, has died

[YNM]

8 hours ago, 5thHorseman said:

Similarity of names notwithstanding, Gene Kerman is not inspired from Gene Cernan but from Gene Krantz, director of NASA during many memorable times and missions. Possibly most notably, he's the one who would not accept failure as an option during the troubles with Apollo 13.

Ah, sorry for my mis-attribution then.

[KAL 9000]

Another one? The flag was at half-mast throughout 2016, and we're not getting let up in 2017?

[OrbitalBuzzsaw]

[Scotius]

We are losing them, guys. Our last real, larger-than-life explorers. Men who boldly went where no human set his foot before. Sure, people like Felix Baumgartner do amazing things. But... Apollo astronauts walked on the Moon. They went farther than any other human in history ever did. In couple of years there will be no one left. That chapter of human history will be closed, and we haven't even started writing another. That's just sad. At least, their traces in Moon dust will remain for a very, very long time - and, if fate allows, one day there will be new tracks nearby.

[Codraroll]

As always, I think Randall Munroe of XKCD has a perfect quote for the occasion. "If the Earth were a basketball, in 40 years [as of 2012] no human has been more than half an inch from the surface".

For the record, if the Earth were a basketball, the moon would be roughly seven and a half metres (25 footses) away on average.

These men were truly great pioneers. They went far.

Edited January 17, 2017 by Codraroll
Added source

[NSEP]

First, John Glenn, now Gene Cernan. The heroes are getting extinct! 

RIP

[GKSP]

With great people now getting older and dying, it is now time for a new generation of explorers to pave the way the brave Apollo astronauts did.  Farewell Gene Cernan.

[purpleivan]

On 17/01/2017 at 0:37 AM, Tex said:

The documentary that featured him, Last Man on the Moon, is one of my all-time favorite documentaries. Not many other films or other pieces of media have ever captured my attention and enhanced it like that documentary did.

Gene's always been one of my favorites.

Agreed on "Last Man on the Moon"... a very down to earth (if that's possible) documentary of his experience of the Apollo 17th mission.