Prompt Cast
The Last Person to Walk on the Moon and the Future of Lunar Exploration
TLDR Gene Cernan became the last person to walk on the moon in October 1972, and since then, no one has gone back. NASA's Project Artemis aims to land astronauts back on the moon by 2024, but lack of funding and enthusiasm from Congress may hinder its achievement, leading to the suggestion of using private companies like SpaceX to save money.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
The last person to set foot on the moon and the lack of future lunar exploration is discussed in this episode.
01:25
The Apollo program was originally planned to have 20 missions to the moon, but only 10 were completed.
02:36
Apollo 20 was cancelled so that NASA could use the Saturn V to launch Skylab, and after the Apollo 13 mission, interest in the moon waned and Congress saw no point in further Apollo missions.
03:44
The J missions of the Apollo program, which included Apollo 15, 16, and 17, were the highlight of the program and featured lunar rovers and longer stays on the moon, with Apollo 17 being the final mission.
04:52
The Apollo 17 mission was the longest Apollo mission yet, with three extended EVAs, a record-breaking 23 hours spent on the surface, and the collection of 110.4 kilograms of moon rock.
06:03
Gene Cernan became the last person to walk on the moon in October 1972, and since then, no one has gone back, leaving only four of the 12 moonwalkers alive today.
07:18
NASA announced Project Artemis, aiming to land astronauts back on the moon by 2024, but the lack of funding and enthusiasm from Congress may hinder its achievement, leading to the suggestion of using private companies like SpaceX to save money.
