From the Archives (February 18, 1972): Tasks of Apollo-17 Lunar Mission

Houston Feb. 17: The United States will end its Apollo moon-landing programme in December with a visit to a lunar mountain valley, it was announced yesterday. The space agency, NASA, said Apollo-17 would be launched on December 6 at the earliest, towards a landing amidst mountainous high lands and dark valleys thought to be filled with volcanic ash. The site, north-east of the Moon’s centre as seen from earth, is called Taurus-Littrow, after the Taurus mountains and the crater Littrow, which both lie north of the landing zone. Its selection followed intensive study of high resolution photographs taken by the Apollo-15 mission last July. The launch of Apollo-17 should be spectacular. The launch is schedule for 9-38 p.m. and will be the first Apollo blast off at night. Astronauts Eugene A. Cernan, the Mission Commander, and geologist Harrison H. (Jack) Schmitt will explore the area in their moon rover while Roland E. Evans conduct experiments in orbit aboard the Command Ship. It was selected to help fill in the major gaps remaining in man’s knowledge of the Moon’s creation and development after information from the four lunar landings to date.