Apollo 17 was the final lunar mission of the Apollo program and the last time humans have set foot on another world. Commanded by Eugene A. Cernan, with Command Module Pilot Ronald E. Evans and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison H. "Jack" Schmitt — the first professional geologist to walk on the Moon — the mission launched at 12:33 a.m. EST on December 7, 1972, the only night launch of the Apollo program. Cernan and Schmitt landed the LM Challenger in the Taurus-Littrow valley on December 11, with 117 seconds of fuel remaining — the most of any Apollo landing. Over three moonwalks totaling 22 hours and 4 minutes, they drove the Lunar Roving Vehicle 22.3 miles, collected 243 pounds of lunar samples, and discovered orange volcanic soil at Shorty Crater that rewrote lunar geology. Evans conducted scientific observations from orbit and performed a spacewalk during the return to Earth to retrieve film cassettes. On December 14, as Cernan prepared to climb the ladder for the last time, he radioed: "As I take man’s last step from the surface … America’s challenge of today has forged man’s destiny of tomorrow. And, as we leave the Moon at Taurus-Littrow, we leave as we came and, God willing, as we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind." The crew splashed down on December 19. No human has walked on the Moon since.