Explorers / Astronauts

24 Gene Cernan Quotes (LAST MAN ON THE MOON)

Top 24 Eugene Cernan Quotes (APOLLO 17) – the Eleventh Person to Walk on the Moon.

“Enriched by a singular event that is larger than life, I no longer have the luxury of being ordinary. To stand on the lunar surface and look back at our Earth creates such a personal sense of awe that even Alan Shepard wept at the view. Trying to exist within the paradox of being in this world after visiting another may be why some Moon voyagers tend to be reclusive.”

Gene Cernan
The exploration of space, like the exploration of life, if you will, is a risk. We've got to be willing to take it.Pin
The exploration of space, like the exploration of life, if you will, is a risk. We’ve got to be willing to take it.
It's our destiny to explore. It's our destiny to be a space-faring nation.Pin
It’s our destiny to explore. It’s our destiny to be a space-faring nation.
Curiosity is the essence of human existence and exploration has been part of humankind for a long time.Pin
Curiosity is the essence of human existence and exploration has been part of humankind for a long time.
As I step off at the surface at Taurus-Littrow, I'd like to dedicate the first step of Apollo 17 to all those who made it possible.Pin
As I step off at the surface at Taurus-Littrow, I’d like to dedicate the first step of Apollo 17 to all those who made it possible.
I think America has a responsibility to maintain its leadership in technology and its moral leadership in the world, to explore, to seek knowledge.Pin
I think America has a responsibility to maintain its leadership in technology and its moral leadership in the world, to explore, to seek knowledge.
I'm quite disappointed that I'm still the last man on the moon.Pin
I’m quite disappointed that I’m still the last man on the moon.
Yes, I am the last man to have walked on the moon, and that's a very dubious and disappointing honor. It's been far too long.Pin
Yes, I am the last man to have walked on the moon, and that’s a very dubious and disappointing honor. It’s been far too long.

“Here I am at the turn of the millennium and I’m still the last man to have walked on the moon, somewhat disappointing. It says more about what we have not done than about what we have done.”

Gene Cernan
I've been asked about UFOs and I've said publicly I thought they were somebody else, some other civilization.Pin
I’ve been asked about UFOs and I’ve said publicly I thought they were somebody else, some other civilization.
The mass gross absence of sound in space is more than just silence.Pin
The mass gross absence of sound in space is more than just silence.

“To become an astronaut, someone has to have a dream of his own to do something that he or she has always wanted to do, then commit himself to making that dream come true.”

Gene Cernan
We will certainly see teachers, journalists, artists, and poets in space. Whatever it takes to be the best is what it will take to get you into space.Pin
We will certainly see teachers, journalists, artists, and poets in space. Whatever it takes to be the best is what it will take to get you into space.
People try to typecast astronauts as heroic and superhuman. We're only human beings.Pin
People try to typecast astronauts as heroic and superhuman. We’re only human beings.
Get the shuttle out of the garage. It's in its prime of its life. How could we just put it away?Pin
Get the shuttle out of the garage. It’s in its prime of its life. How could we just put it away?
We leave as we came and, God willing, as we shall return, with peace, and hope for all mankind.Pin
We leave as we came and, God willing, as we shall return, with peace, and hope for all mankind.
It's the last steps that are perhaps more memorable to me than that first step, because I'd been in this valley on the Moon, almost living in a paradox.Pin
It’s the last steps that are perhaps more memorable to me than that first step, because I’d been in this valley on the Moon, almost living in a paradox.
Nobody can take those footsteps I made on the surface of the moon away from me.Pin
Nobody can take those footsteps I made on the surface of the moon away from me.

“I do believe there is life in outer space. Mathematically, there has to be, and if you believe as I do that there is a creator of the universe, then how can we be so arrogant to believe he created life here and nowhere else?”

Gene Cernan
Prepare for the unknown, unexpected and inconceivable... after 50 years of flying I'm still learning every time I fly.Pin
Prepare for the unknown, unexpected and inconceivable… after 50 years of flying I’m still learning every time I fly.
It was probably the greatest singular human endeavor, certainly in modern times, maybe in the history of all mankind.Pin
It was probably the greatest singular human endeavor, certainly in modern times, maybe in the history of all mankind.
If you begin to think you're something you're not, you're looking in the wrong mirror.Pin
If you begin to think you’re something you’re not, you’re looking in the wrong mirror.
Neil Armstrong was probably one of the most human guys I've ever known in my life.Pin
Neil Armstrong was probably one of the most human guys I’ve ever known in my life.

“Perhaps the two greatest moments of my life were standing on the moon and being outside of the room when my granddaughter was born! We tend not to remember the worst.”

Gene Cernan
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Gene Cernan Short Biography

Born 14 March 1934, in Chicago, Illinois, United States, Eugene Andrew “Gene” Cernan, was an American astronaut and is remembered as the last man to walk on the moon.

Cernan earned an electrical engineering degree in 1956, from Purdue University. After graduating he found work in the Navy, and in 1963 he earned his Master’s degree in aeronautical engineering.

In October 1963 Gene Cernan became a part of NASA’s third group of astronauts. Cernan was involved in both the Gemini and Apollo space programs.

The Gemini 9 space mission launched Cernan into space on June 3, 1966. This mission made him the second American to perform a spacewalk.

In December of 1972, Cernan became the commander of Apollo 17, the last Apollo mission. This mission would end with record-breaking achievements, one of the more notable achievements was the iconic photograph capture of the earth, the picture was named: the blue marble. (Source)

The Apollo 17 mission dubbed Gene Cernan as “the last man on the moon”.

Cernan retired from NASA on July 1, 1976. After retirement, he began working in private businesses and became the Executive Vice President of Coral Petroleum Inc.

He co-authored his memoir entitled; The Last Man on The Moon, which was published on March 22, 1999.

Further reading:

Here are the best Gene Cernan quotes so you can be inspired to collaborate and be a team leader to achieve exceptional goals in the workplace.

(MUST READ)

Also read:

Gene Cernan Quotes (LAST MAN ON THE MOON) - Gracious QuotesPin
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