Harrison Schmitt
The only professional geologist to walk on the Moon, who collected rock samples on Apollo 17 in December 1972.
Key facts
- Born
- 1935
- Nationality
- American
- Field
- Geologist and astronaut
Harrison Hagan Schmitt, known as Jack, studied geology at the California Institute of Technology and Harvard, and worked for the US Geological Survey's astrogeology branch, helping to train astronauts, before being chosen as a scientist-astronaut in 1965.
In December 1972 he flew to the Moon on Apollo 17, the last Apollo landing, with Eugene Cernan. They spent about three days in the Taurus–Littrow valley and made three long excursions in the lunar rover. Schmitt's trained eye picked out the best samples, and on one excursion he noticed orange soil, which turned out to be tiny beads of volcanic glass from ancient lava fountains.
Apollo 17 brought back about 110 kilograms of rock and soil, more than any other mission. Among the samples is a rock known as Troctolite 76535, one of the oldest and least changed rocks from the Moon. Apollo samples became the yardstick against which every lunar meteorite is compared.
After his spaceflight, Schmitt served as a United States senator for New Mexico from 1977 to 1983. He has continued to write about the Moon's geology and its future exploration.
On the timeline
- December 1972The last Apollo samples