Harrison Schmitt credits the image to the entire Apollo 17 crew. While on the Moon's surface, Schmitt — the only geologist in the astronaut corps — collected the rock sample designated Troctolite 76535, which has been called "without doubt the most interesting sample returned from the Moon". Among other distinctions, it is the central piece of evidence suggesting that the Moon once possessed an active magnetic field. As he returned to the Lunar Module before Cernan, Schmitt is the next-to-last person to have walked on the Moon's surface. After the completion of Apollo 17, Schmitt played an active role in documenting the
1976 United States Senate election in New Mexico 1976 United States Senate election in New Mexico The 1976 United States Senate election in New Mexico took place on November 2, 1976. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Joseph Montoya ran for re-election to a third term, but was defeated by Republican Harrison Schmitt. Harrison Schmitt was a former astronaut who walked on the moon during the Apollo 17 mission, who was seeking his first political office. Joseph Montoya had completed two terms in the Senate and was seeking his third. In the pre-primary convention held on March 27, 1976, Schmitt received 73.7% of the votes and businessman Eugene Peirce received