Gene Cernan, the last astronaut to walk on the moon, has died

The U.S. space program lost another towering figure today as astronaut Gene Cernan, commander of Apollo 17 and the last person to walk on the moon, died at the age of 82 on Monday.

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"Even at the age of 82, Gene was passionate about sharing his desire to see the continued human exploration of space and encouraged our nation's leaders and young people to not let him remain the last man to walk on the Moon," Cernan's family said in a statement.

Cernan's history of space flight is extensive. Admitted to the astronaut program in 1963, Cernan participated in a two-hour space walk as part of the Gemini 9 mission in June 1966, becoming the second American to do so.  Read more...

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