Apollo 17 was the eleventh manned space mission in the NASA Apollo programme. It was the first night launch of a U.S. human spaceflight and the sixth and final lunar landing mission. The mission was launched at 12:33 a.m. EST on 7 December 1972, and concluded on December 19.

One of the last two men to set foot on the Moon was also the first scientist-astronaut, geologist Harrison ("Jack") Schmitt. While Evans circled in America, Schmitt and Cernan collected a record 109 lb (49 kg) of rocks during three Moonwalks. The crew roamed for 34 km (21 mi) through the Taurus-Littrow valley in their rover, discovered orange-colored soil, and left the most comprehensive set of instruments in the ALSEP on the lunar surface. Their mission was the last in the Apollo lunar landing missions. The last 4 Apollo craft were used for the three Skylab missions and the ASTP, mission in 1975.