Apollo 17 ascent stage. View from the upper stage of the Apollo 17 lunar module Challenger as it lifts off from the Moon on 14 December 1972. The descent stage (visible at 5 seconds) remained at the Taurus-Littrow landing site. This was the last of the Apollo missions. The crew of the lunar module were US astronauts Harrison Schmitt and Eugene Cernan. They had explored the area for three days (11-14 December 1972). Cernan was the last person to walk on the Moon.