Apollo 17: The Last Men on the Moon : Transcript

## Podcast Transcript: Apollo 17 - The Last Hurrah

**Hosts:** Leo (enthusiastic, conversational) and Aria (analytical, detail-oriented)

**(Intro music fades)**

**Leo:** Well, today we’re um… we’re diving into a story that almost didn’t happen. Apollo 17, the final mission to the moon. We’re going beyond the usual timelines and uh… digging into the human side of this last hurrah. Think of it as Apollo 17, the director’s cut.

**Aria:** Hmm. Right. Okay.

**(Context: Aria’s “hmm” establishes her thoughtful approach, pausing before agreement.)**

**Aria:** What’s captivating about Apollo 17 is its context. Imagine: 1972, Vietnam War, budgets tightening, even the public's… uh… fascination with space was waning. It was a mission running on fumes, ambition-wise, and… uh… literally, as we'll get to.

**(Context: Aria sets the scene, highlighting the socio-political climate and foreshadowing technical issues.)**

**Leo:** Okay, set the scene for us. It's December 6th. Florida's lookin' picture-perfect. Uh… what's the vibe like?

**Aria:** Electric. 700,000 people gathered, the Saturn V rocket glowing under the spotlights. This wasn’t just a launch, it was a culmination, a bittersweet farewell to an era.

**Leo:** And then *bam*! *(chuckles)* Hold at T-minus 30 seconds. I imagine more than a few heart rates spiked at that moment. Was this uh… just a normal spaceflight hiccup or something more serious?

**Aria:** It was a first for Apollo. A faulty diode, tiny component, brought the whole countdown to a standstill. This wasn’t in the script. Two-hour delay, astronauts strapped into what's essentially a controlled explosion waiting to happen. Talk about tense.

**Leo:** Wow! Oh wow!

**(Clue: Leo’s interjections reveal his emotional engagement with the narrative.)**


**Leo:** Talk about a lesson in how the smallest things can have the biggest impact. Did this unexpected delay add even more pressure to an already pressure-packed mission?

**Aria:** Absolutely. Remember, Apollo 17 nearly got the axe entirely. Political winds had changed, the Vietnam War was draining resources, and NASA was feeling the heat. This final mission *had* to justify its existence.

**Leo:** So, on top of everything else, this mission was carrying the weight of the entire Apollo program on its shoulders. No pressure, right? But beyond the politics, there was also some uh… serious drama unfolding around the crew selection, wasn't there?

**Aria:** Yeah. More like a casting call from a space opera. This was the last ticket to the Moon and *everyone* wanted onboard. Scientists had been lobbying hard to get a geologist on a lunar mission, and… well, they got their wish with Harrison Schmitt.

**Leo:** But this being Apollo, it wasn’t as simple as adding another name to the roster, was it?

**Aria:** Not at all. You had Eugene Cernan, the commander, a seasoned astronaut, but he'd had a near-death helicopter crash just months before. Questions lingered. Was he really ready for this, physically *and* mentally?

**Leo:** Oh, wow.

**Leo:** And then there’s the case of Joe Engle, right? Ready to go, spacesuit fitted, only to be bumped from the lineup. That's gotta be one of the toughest phone calls in history to make.

**Aria:** Hmm. Imagine the heartbreak. Years of training, dreams dashed. NASA decided Schmitt's geological expertise outweighed Engle’s piloting skills for this particular mission. Tough call, big implications. And, as if *that* wasn’t enough, the ghost of Apollo 15 was still looming.

**Leo:** Ah, yes, the stamp scandal. A reminder that even amidst these grand scientific endeavors, human fallibility is always a factor.


**Aria:** It definitely brought an unwelcome spotlight on NASA, reminding everyone that the agency wasn't immune to controversy. They needed Apollo 17 to be a success, not just scientifically, but ethically, image-wise. The stakes were incredibly high.

**Leo:** So they had a crew cobbled together, a launch that threw a curveball right off the bat, and a program fighting for its very survival. Hmm. But amidst all this, they still had to decide where to go.

**Aria:** Right. They needed a site that would uh… *wow* everyone, scientifically speaking. Taurus-Littrow, a valley nestled in the Sea of Serenity, was chosen. But that decision, like everything else about Apollo 17, came with its own story. Taurus-Littrow was… uh… a bit of a gamble, a hunch based on some intriguing observations. Alfred Worden, orbiting the Moon during Apollo 15, had noticed these dark haloes around some of the craters in that region. Geologically speaking, it was like the Moon was sending out smoke signals saying, "Dig here."

**Leo:** Right.

**Leo:** And dig they did, but not without their share of hiccups along the way. Tell me, beyond the near-disaster at launch, was Apollo 17 as smooth sailing as everyone remembers?

**Aria:** Well, smoother than some, rockier than others, so to speak. They had leaking chlorine ampules, crucial for water purification. Not ideal when you’re stuck in a tin can millions of miles from home. And then there was the docking issue.

**(Context: Aria uses evocative language like "tin can" to paint a vivid picture.)**

**Leo:** Hmm. Hold on. Docking issue? This was *after* they'd already landed on the moon?

**Aria:** No, this was during lunar orbit rendezvous. Imagine, two spacecraft, one piloted by Evans, the other by Cernan, coming together at thousands of miles per hour. A faulty latch almost turned a delicate dance into a disaster.

**Leo:** Right.

**Leo:** So what happened? How did they… how did they avert catastrophe? Did they have to call Houston, mission control, for a last-minute save?

**Aria:** Apollo astronauts were a different breed. Cernan, cool as a cucumber, manually engaged the docking mechanism. It was a testament to their training, their quick-thinking under pressure. These were the folks who literally wrote the manual on spaceflight.

**Leo:** Wow. Talk about grace under pressure. But it wasn’t *all* nail-biting maneuvers and near misses, right? They did get some incredible photos during this mission.

**Aria:** Yeah.

**Aria:** One… one in particular comes to mind. The “Blue Marble” shot. It wasn’t planned, wasn’t even on the schedule, just… uh… pure awe seeing Earth rising above the lunar horizon, a tiny jewel against the vastness of space.

**Leo:** Yeah.

**(Context: Aria’s “uh” and slight hesitation before “pure awe” show a rare moment of being at a loss for words.)**

**Leo:** That photo, even today, gives me chills. A reminder of just how fragile and interconnected our planet is. But back on the moon, Cernan and Schmitt were about to make a discovery that would rewrite the textbooks.

**Aria:** They were exploring a crater nicknamed “Shorty” when they spotted something completely unexpected. Orange soil.

**Leo:** What?

**Aria:** Not just a tinge, but patches of vibrant, almost unnatural color against the monotonous gray lunar landscape.

**Leo:** Orange soil? That seems like something out of a science fiction novel, not a scientific mission. Hmm. What in the world caused that?

**Aria:** Initially, they were as baffled as anyone. Was it some strange mineral deposit? Evidence of ancient water? The mystery deepened when they discovered tiny orange beads mixed in with the soil. It was like finding a treasure chest on another world.

**Leo:** So what *was* the treasure? What did those orange beads reveal about the moon’s past?

**Aria:** Analysis back on Earth revealed the orange soil was volcanic in origin, but not your typical slow-flowing lava. We're talking explosive eruptions, fire fountains spewing molten droplets of glass high above the surface.

**Leo:** Hmm. Volcanic fire fountains on the Moon. That paints a very different picture of our celestial neighbor than the one we learned about in school. It sounds like Apollo 17 was full of surprises, both big and small. But what about Ron Evans up in lunar orbit? What was *his* experience like while all this was happening on the surface?

**Aria:** Evans' story is often overlooked, but he played a crucial role in the mission’s success. While Cernan and Schmitt were gathering samples and driving the lunar rover, Evans was orbiting above, conducting his own scientific observations. And he even had his own taste of spacewalk adventure.

**Leo:** Right. Wait, Evans did a spacewalk? I thought those were reserved for the moonwalkers.

**Aria:** He did. It wasn't on the Moon, of course, but out in the vastness of lunar orbit. He had to retrieve film canisters and data recorders from the Scientific Instrument Module – the SIMbay – attached to the command module.

**Leo:** The SIMbay? Sounds like something out of *Star Wars*.

**(Clue: Pop culture references pepper Leo’s speech, reflecting his accessible style.)**


**Aria:** It was basically a high-tech toolbox filled with instruments for studying the Moon. Evans operated things like the lunar sounder, which mapped the subsurface, revealing hidden geological features, and a whole suite of other sensors that collected data on everything from lunar gravity to the composition of the thin lunar atmosphere.

**Leo:** So while Cernan and Schmitt were getting a close-up view of the Moon, Evans was getting the big picture – literally. What an amazing testament to teamwork. But his spacewalk, it wasn’t all routine, right? You mentioned something about it uh… not going according to plan.

**Aria:** Space has a way of throwing curveballs, even when you’re orbiting a seemingly lifeless rock. The extreme temperatures in space – swings from scorching sunlight to frigid darkness – had caused some of the equipment to jam.

**Leo:** Right. So, what did he do?


**Aria:** He did what any good astronaut would do. He improvised. Used a bit of brute strength and ingenuity to wrestle those canisters free. A reminder that space exploration, even when it looks graceful and effortless, is often a gritty and physically demanding endeavor.

**Leo:** Right. And speaking of demanding, there was another experiment flying on Apollo 17 that really highlighted the challenges of space travel for living organisms, even tiny ones.

**Aria:** You’re talking about the mice. They actually flew a group of pocket mice on Apollo 17 to study the long-term effects of cosmic radiation – a significant concern for future, longer duration missions. Sadly, most of the mice didn't survive the trip.

**Leo:** Yeah. That's heartbreaking, but a stark reminder of the risks involved in pushing the boundaries of exploration. But the one surviving mouse… did they learn anything from its experience?

**Aria:** Mhm. They did. Scientists found unusual changes in its nasal cavity tissues – changes not seen in the control group back on Earth. It suggested that exposure to cosmic rays, combined with the effects of microgravity, could have unforeseen consequences for living organisms, humans included.

**Leo:** A sobering thought, but crucial information as we set our sights on longer missions to the Moon and beyond. It seems like every experiment, every discovery brought up more questions than answers. But uh… that’s the beauty of exploration, isn't it? Pushing into the unknown and coming back changed by what you’ve learned. But for Apollo 17, as with all stories, there comes an ending. After three days on the Moon, it was time for Cernan and Schmitt to say goodbye.

**Aria:** Yeah. Right. It was a poignant moment. As he took his final steps on the lunar surface, Cernan uttered words that have echoed through history: "We leave as we came, and, God willing, as we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind." A hopeful note on which to end humanity's first chapter on the Moon.

**Leo:** Yeah. A fitting end to an incredible journey. But even though Apollo 17 marked the end of an era, it also planted the seeds for the future of space exploration.

**Aria:** Absolutely. The knowledge gained from those missions, the technologies developed… they continue to shape our understanding of the universe and our place in it.

**Leo:** It's amazing to think that something as commonplace as a memory foam mattress has its roots in the space program.


**Aria:** It's true. The legacy of Apollo extends far beyond those boot prints in the lunar dust. And then there are the lunar samples, those precious rocks and soil brought back from another world. They’re still being studied today, revealing new insights into the Moon's formation, its evolution, and its connection to our own planet. It's like having a time capsule from the early solar system right here on Earth.

**Leo:** Right. It makes you wonder what secrets those rocks still hold, what future discoveries await as we develop even more advanced analytical techniques. Hmm. As we wrap up our deep dive into Apollo 17, I'm left with a sense of awe at what these missions accomplished, but also a sense of responsibility for what comes next.

**Aria:** Yeah. Cernan’s words, “as we shall return,” resonate even more strongly today. We’re on the cusp of a new era of lunar exploration, with plans to establish a permanent presence on the Moon. What we learn there will pave the way for even bolder missions, to Mars and beyond. It’s an exciting time to be looking up at the stars, that's for sure.

**Leo:** Right. That's true. Yeah. So, as we look to the future, what do you think is the most important lesson we can take from Apollo 17, a mission that faced so many challenges, yet achieved such incredible things?

**Aria:** For me, it’s the power of human ingenuity and collaboration in the face of adversity. Apollo 17 was a testament to what we can accomplish when we set aside our differences and work together towards a common goal. It's a lesson that feels more relevant than ever as we face new challenges here on Earth and beyond.

**Leo:** Beautifully said. And if those Apollo astronauts could achieve the seemingly impossible with the technology of the 1960s and 70s, imagine what *we* can do today, with the combined knowledge and resources of a global community.


**Aria:** The sky is no longer the limit. Apollo showed us that. It’s up to us to keep reaching for the stars.


**Leo:** What will be *your* contribution to the next chapter of human exploration?


**(Outro music fades in)**