40 Years Ago, Humans Took Their Final Steps on the Moon

Forty years ago today, beginning just after 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, men took humanity's final steps on the moon. Apollo 17, the mission that sent them to make those strides, is notable not just for the bittersweet ending that it represents; it also broke records -- as the longest manned lunar landing flight; as the mission with the longest total lunar surface extravehicular activities; as the mission that offered the largest lunar sample return; as the mission that spent the longest time in lunar orbit.

But it will be remembered, largely, for its finality, for the epic era it brought to an end. Below, images -- with captions provided, like the photos themselves, by NASA -- of Apollo 17, the United States's final manned mission to the moon.

Astronaut Eugene A. Cernan, Apollo 17 commander, is photographed inside the lunar module on the lunar surface following the second extravehicular activity (EVA-2) of his mission. Note the lunar dust speckling his suit. (NASA)

View of boulder at Station 2 (Amundsen Crater) photographed during second Apollo 17 extrvehicular activity (EVA-2). The earth can be seen directly above the boulder in the lunar sky. (NASA)

The cresent Earth rises above the lunar horizon in this photograph taken from the Apollo 17 spacecraft in lunar orbit during NASA's final lunar landing mission in the Apollo program. (NASA)