Apollo 17 was the last United States mission to the moon and the first to be launched at night. Successful despite a delay caused by a launch sequencer malfunction, the Apollo 17 left Earth on December 7, 1972 and its lunar module, manned by Eugene A. Cernan and Harrison H. Schmitt, landed on the surface of the moon in the Taurus-Littrow region on December 11. The third crewmember, Ronald E. Evans, remained in lunar orbit aboard the Apollo’s command and service module. Cernan and Schmitt, who was the first civilian scientist to visit the moon, spent more time exploring the lunar surface, traveled further, and returned with a greater body of samples than any prior astronauts. The group returned home without difficulty on December 19, 12 days after they had left. Those wishing to see the Apollo 17 command module, dubbed “America,” may do so at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.