First stage propellant tanks have been pressurized. Now past the one minute mark and we are going on internal power. Now all systems to internal power. We will be looking for the engine start sequence at the 8.9 second mark in the countdown. The engines will build up to a thrust of 7.6 million pounds, T minus 30 seconds, we have a cutoff. We have a cutoff at T minus 30 seconds.

We're standing by at the T minus 30 second mark. We'll bring word to you uh just as soon as we get it. We have a cutoff at T minus 30 seconds.

Mark T minus 5 45 and Gene Cernan made that final guidance alignment. That's the last action taken by the crew aboard the space vehicle. Now approaching the half minute mark. T minus 33 T minus 30 seconds and continuing on now. Continuing on at the T minus 26 second mark. T minus 25. We'll get a final guidance release at the T minus 17 second mark. T minus 17. Final guidance release. We'll expect engine ignition at 8.9 seconds. 10 9 8 7 ignition sequence started, all engines are started. We have ignition 2 1 0. We have a liftoff. We have a liftoff and it's lighting up the area. It's just like daylight here at Kennedy Space Center as the Saturn 5 is moving off the pad. It is now cleared the tower. Roger, are you all complete? We're on the road Bob. Roger Gene, looking great, thrust good on all five engines. Okay baby, it's looking good here, roll is complete, we are pitching.

Houston, we are reading telemetry.

And very faintly we copy the crew reporting S4B ignition. That's confirmed by the telemetry. Booster reports the thrust looks good on the S4B.

A burn was initiated at an altitude of about 97 nautical miles above earth. When finished, the spacecraft will be at about 150 miles above earth and on its way to the moon, some 213,000 nautical miles away.

How are you, Houston?
Roger, we copy.
Okay, we're free. Reading looks pretty good.
Let's lock it together.
Ready. Jeez, my gut's not bad.
Okay.
All right, one.
Mark it, stand by. Here she comes.
Okay,
My goodness. Okay, Houston, ripple fire, but we still have uh number eight barbel fall.

that's just around and out things as we pitch back into uh yaw attitude and lo and behold from over the top of the limb came the earth.
Very good uh we've been hearing you for a couple minutes now. Uh we've had a ground site problem but you're loud and clear now.

Hey, I just saw a flash on the lunar surface.
Oh yeah? Uh It was just right out there north of Grimaldi. Just north of Grimaldi. You might see if you got anything on your seismometers, although uh a small impact probably would give a fair amount of visible light.
Okay, we'll check.
It was a bright little flash right out there near that crater. Uh See the crater right at the edge of Grimaldi? Then there's another one north of it. A really sharp one north of it is where uh there was just a pinprick of of light.

Bob, I can now see down in through the shadow. I can see uh Bear Mountain, I can see uh I can't really make out the uh the slide yet. Most of the north Massif are still in uh in shadow due to the uh due to the uh sculpted hills. And just at the point where we can start really see through the shadows and see the uh some hommicky terrain on the uh north Massif it just went out of my next reach. Okay, I got the landing site. We're right over the top of it and the scarp is fantastically detailed at this uh Can you see in there, Gene? Right down. Right down. Straight down there. the uh slide the light mantle is uh very obviously mantling the area. The scarp was very detailed and uh so far could not see any structure in the Massif at all, but I haven't had any I didn't have much time to watch it on that pass. I tell you, from this altitude and with that low sun there's no question of the sharpness of the topographic features in the landing area.

Okay, Gordon, we're out of 11,000 at nine. Okay, stand by for pitch over or we coming in. Oh baby. I'll give it to you.
There it is, proceeded.
And there it is, Houston. There's Camelot. Right on target. I see it. We got them all. 42 degrees, 37 degrees through 5500. 38 degrees. Challenger, you are a go for landing. 32 42 degrees through 4000. 47 now. 47 degrees through 3500. 49 degrees. 3,000 feet. 53 degrees. Okay, I've got bar. Hey, I've got poppy, I've got the triangle. Got 3500 feet, 52 degrees. H dot is good, 2000, H dot is good. Fuel is good. Okay, you're through 1000, I'm taking radar altitude and things altitude degree. You're through 800 feet. 25 feet per second through 400. That's a little high, Gene. Okay. Going down at 5. Going down at 5. Going down at 10, cut the H dot. Fuel's good. 110 feet, stand by for some dust. Little forward, Gene.
There forward a little. 90 feet. Little forward velocity. 80 feet, going down at 3. A little dust. You're at 60 feet. Going down at about 2, very little dust. Very little dust. 40 feet, going down at 3. Stand by for touchdown. Standby. 25 feet, down at 2. Fuel's good. 20 feet. Going down at 2. 10 feet. 10 feet. Contact. A push, engine stop, engine arm, proceed, command override off, look control a head hold, pings auto.
Okay, Houston, the Challenger has landed.
Roger, Challenger, that's super. Okay, boy, you better take this, Gordo. But you said shut down. I shut down and we dropped, didn't we? Yes, sir. But we is here. Man is we here. How's that look? Pressure. Pressure's look great. Okay, that site's complete. Houston, you can tell America that Challenger is at Taurus-Littrow. I'm on the uh footpad. And Houston, as I step off at the surface at Taurus-Littrow, I'd like to dedicate the first steps of Apollo 17 to all those who made it possible. Back and out here. Oh my golly. Unbelievable. Unbelievable, but is it bright in the sun.
Okay, we landed in a very shallow depression. That's why we've got a slight pitch up angle. Very shallow uh uh dinner plate like this crater just about the uh the width of uh of the struts. That's just closed. Barely. Hey Jack, don't lock it. I'm not going to lock it. We got a We've got to go back there. You lose the key and we're in trouble. Hey, who's been tracking up my lunar surface? Okay. Just walk around for 1 second. Hey man. Put your visor down. And I'll be over there and you can fix my uh tool harness. I don't like that thing loose. Okay, uh Okay, I tell you where I think I landed. Uh Oh, about 100 meters uh from Poppy at 10:00. You think that's Poppy, huh? I think so. I think uh an awful big hole. Well, I know. I got to look around a little more. That sure is not Trident. Yes, sir. Uh You're pretty agile there, twinkle toes. You bet your uh Life, I am. Okay, here we go. Okay, the the right front wheel's turned. I can't see the rear ones. I'll verify them in a minute. Okay. I can't see the rear ones, but I know the front ones turn, and it does move. Hallelujah. Hallelujah, Houston. Challenger's baby is on the roll. Roger, copy that. Sounds great. What do you see, Jack? Well, I think you're wrong angle. Yeah, they're turning. How's that grab you? They're turning. How about that? Come towards me, baby. Looks like it's moving. The flag they're deploying is the flag that has

has been in the mission control center here during past missions.
I've never put a flag up in the moon before. Well?
Pull that in.
How about getting it stretched out here. I will.
I just can't start forward as fast as I'd like to.
Hey, it's going to want to curl.
Maybe it'll uh That's what looks like it's waving in a breeze. That's sure. How about right there.
We got a beautiful picture of you guys up down there.
Let me tell you Bob, this flag is a beautiful picture.
This then uh That's beautiful. This is got to be one of the most proud moments of my life, I guarantee you.
Houston, I don't know how many of you are aware of this,
but this this flag flown in the Moker since Apollo 11.
And we were so proudly to deploy it on the moon to stay for as long as it can.
Honor of all those people who have worked so hard to put us here and put every other crew here
and to make the country, United States and mankind something different than it was.
I was rolling on the moon one day.
In the of December.
Now, May. May, May the month.
May, that's right.
May is the year the month.
When them much to my surprise, a pair of bonny eyes.

Oh, hey.
Wait a minute.
What?
Where the reflections? I've been from water.
There is orange soil.
Well, don't move it until I see it.
It's all over.
Orange.
Don't move it until I see it. I've started up with my feet.
Hey, it is. I can see it from here. It's orange.
Wait a minute, let me put my visor up.
It's still orange.
Sure it is.
Crazy.
Orange.
I've got to dig a trench, Houston.
I copy that. I guess we better work fast.
it really is.
Same color as the. Temperature on the surface is about a 100 and uh Temperature on the surface is about a 102.
It's almost the same color as the LMT decal on my camera.
And that's the sports fans, it's trench time and market.
Copy that.
Houston, before we uh close out our EVA,
we understand that there are
young people in Houston today,
who have been effectively touring our country,
young people from countries all over the world,
effectively touring our country.
Had the opportunity to watch the launch of Apollo 17.
Hopefully had an opportunity to meet some of our young people in our country,
and we'd like to say, first of all, welcome and we hope you enjoyed your stay.
Second of all, I think,
probably one of the most significant things we can think about when we think about Apollo is that
it has opened
for us,
for us being the world,
a challenge of the future.
The door is now crack but the promise of that future
lies in the young people, not just in America,
but the young people all over the world,
learning to live and learning to work together.
In order to
remind all the people of the world,
in so many countries throughout the world,
that this is what we all are striving for in the future.
Jack has picked up
a very significant rock.
Typical of what we have here in the Valley of Taurus Litrow.
It's a rock
composed of many
fragments of many sizes,
and many shapes.
Probably from all parts of the moon, perhaps
billions of years old.
But a rock of all sizes and shapes,
fragments of all sizes and shapes,
and even colors that have
grown together and become a cohesive rock,
on landing in nature of space,
started living together,
in a very coherent,
very peaceful manner.
When we return this rock,
or some of the others like it to Houston,
we'd like to share a piece of this rock
with so many of the countries throughout the world.
We hope that this will be a symbol
of what our feelings are,
what the feelings of the Apollo program are,
and the symbol of mankind that we can live in peace and harmony in the future.
A portion of our of our rock will be sent to a
representative agency or museum in each of the countries represented by the
young people in uh
Houston today.
And we hope that they will, that rock and that students themselves
will carry with them our good wishes
not only for
the new year coming up but also for
themselves, their countries, and all mankind in the future.
To commemorate,
not just the Apollo 17 visit
to the Valley of Taurus Litrow,
but as an everlasting commemoration
of what the real meaning of Apollo is
to the world,
we'd like to uncover a plaque
that has been on the
leg of our spacecraft that we have
climbed down
many times over the last three days.
And I'll read what that plaque says to you. First of all, it has a picture of the
world, two pictures, one of the North America and one of South America.
The other covers
the other half of the world,
including Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia,
covers the North Pole and the South Pole.
In between these two
hemispheres, we have
a pictorial view of the moon,
a pictorial view of where all the Apollo landings have been made.
So then with this plaque, it's seen again
by others who come,
they will know where it all started.
The words
are, here man completed
his first exploration of the moon.
December 1972
AD.
May the spirit of peace
in which we came
be reflected in the lives
of all mankind.
It's signed
Eugene A. Cernan,
Ronald E. Evans,
Harrison H. Schmidt,
and most prominently,
Richard M. Nixon,
President of the United States of America.
This is our commemoration
that will be here
until someone like us,
until some of you who are out there who are the promise of the future,
come back to read it again,
and to further the exploration and the meaning of Apollo.
Okay, Dean, and I and Houston, uh, copy that and uh, echo your sentiments, and Dr. Pletcher is here beside me,
uh, I'd like to say a word to the two of you.
Uh, Dean and Jack, uh,
I've been in close touch with the White House uh,
and the President has been following very closely, your
absolutely fascinating work up there.
Uh, he'd like to wish you Godspeed as you return to worth,
and I'd like to personally second that.
Congratulations, we'll see you in a few days, over.
Thank you, Dr. Fletcher. We appreciate your comments and we certainly appreciate
those of the President.
And uh, whether it be civilian or military, I think Jack and I would
both like to
give our salute
to America.
And uh, Dr. Fletcher, by
May, I'd like to uh
remind everybody, I'm sure it's something they're aware, but this valley,
this valley of history has uh,
seen mankind completed its first
evolutionary steps into the universe,
leaving the planet Earth,
and going forward into the universe.
I think uh,
no more significant contribution
has Apollo made to history.
It's not often that you can
foretell history, but I think we can in this case.
And I think everybody ought to feel uh, very proud of that fact.
Bob, uh, this is Gene, and I'm on the surface.
And as I
take man's last step from the surface,
back home,
for some time to come, but we believe not too long in the future,
I'd like to just let
what I believe history will record,
that America's challenge of today
has forged man's destiny
up tomorrow.
And as we leave
the moon and Taurus Litrow,
we leave as we came,
and God willing as we shall return.
With peace
and in hope
for all mankind.
God speed the crew of Apollo 17.
15 seconds.
The average, 22 seconds.
Uh, shoot.
Okay, yeah, let's get off before we get the camera.
10 seconds.
Wait, age, push?
Hinge and arm is that. Hey, I'm going to get the Pro.
99, proceeding three, two, one,
ignition.
Run away, Houston, that's real good.
Aggs, hot.
Take over.
Roger, you have good throttle.
130 Houston, we're in the blind and we're go.
Roger, we'd like the AGs to auto.
Challenger, Houston, we'd like to terminate descent feed now.
Okay.
Hey, he's in uh 540 Challenger's coming through 52k and thing says 126 on the H dot, we're go.
Roger, Challenger, your trajectory is right on the money, both systems are go.
Okay, normal shutdown and normal trim procedures.
Roger, normal shutdown, normal trim.
Looks like you've been flying well up there partner. The spacecraft looks good.
Oh, you betcha.
Here we go.
What a super flying machine.
It's kind of tinny to me.
Not that I have to do anything but thrust right into the
I might even get your roll angle zero for you by,
that maneuver. Okay, it's all yours.
Okay, I got her.
Should be looking, I'm looking right up your window.
Okay, and I can see all your docking latches or I
We got a capture.
Captures, golden free.
Good, South here, we're free.
That looks good though, Rob. Very good.
Okay, that's a good one.
Okay, Houston, we have capture.
Okay, you ready? Roger.
And Houston, every latch is uh, worked perfectly.
Houston, do you read America?
As far as America can, we have a picture.
Roger. Houston, America has found some fair winds and following seas and we're on our way home.
Okay, that's great news.
Hey, Houston, the hatches open.
Roger, Master.
Hey, there's the earth. What a sight.
Okay, you've got a, it's the crescent earth. You've got a go for egress.
Beautiful.
And just take it slow. Okay, first of all, I'll have your back inside with your PV camera.
Roger, we see you waving.
Hey, this is great.
Space man being a space man.
This is it.
Standby. Standby for the splashdown.
America's at 300 feet.
Splash.
Recovery America, it's stable one in the current car.
A great deal of cheering going on here in the control center uh,
as the splash down was watched in real time from the recovery helicopter.
And mark the time at 3:04:31 ground elapsed time, even.
Hi, I'm proud to be here.
I'm proud to be part of Apollo 17.

I'm proud to be an astronaut. I'm very proud to be a captain in the Navy. And most of all, I'm proud to be an American. 
And I'd like to present another guy who's pretty proud to be an American, and in turn I'll let him present the third member of our crew, the first Commander Ron Evans.

Thank you, Jim. I'm really honored, and I'm proud. And And And that's the best way I can express it.
And I think, uh, right now I'd like to present our our third crew member, but the third member of the Apollo 17 crew, Jack Schmitt.

Thank you.
I'm happy to be here and I guess uh I never will be Navy. Uh 
I'm sorry, but if there was ever a team I'd like to be part of, it's this one. Thank you very much.

This is Apollo control with the helicopter safely on deck.
The network controller, Dave Young, will hang the final plaque in the Apollo series on the upper wall of the control room here.
And this circuit, known up until now as Gemini Control, then Apollo Control, will reappear as Skylab Control in the spring.
This is Apollo control out at 3:05:25 ground elapsed time.