Gene Cernan Gene Cernan Eugene Andrew Cernan (; March 14, 1934 – January 16, 2017) was an American astronaut, naval aviator, electrical engineer, aeronautical engineer, and fighter pilot. During the Apollo 17 mission, Cernan became the eleventh person to walk on the Moon. Since he re-entered the lunar module after Harrison Schmitt on their third and final lunar excursion, he is the last person to have walked on the Moon. Cernan traveled into space three times; as pilot of Gemini 9A in June 1966, as lunar module pilot of Apollo 10 in May 1969, and as commander of Apollo 17 in December
The Reluctant Astronaut 1998 autobiography, the infamous "Apollo 1" fire led to Universal Pictures being skeptical about releasing a comedy on space travel so soon after the tragedy. Not as popular as his first film ventures, "The Incredible Mr. Limpet" (1964) and "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" (1966), due to its connection to the Apollo program, "The Reluctant Astronaut" still was a popular children's film and was frequently shown on weekend afternoons. Knotts was nominated for the 1967 Golden Laurel Male Comedy Performance Award for his role in "The Reluctant Astronaut". For the benefits in publicity for their programs, NASA also named Knotts,