The Apollo 17 lunar mission, the last manned mission to the Moon, occurred from December 11-14, 1972. Astronauts Eugene A. Cernan and Harrison H. "Jack" Schmitt performed three separate Extravehicular Activities (EVAs) in the Taurus Mountain-Littrow Crater region of Mare Serenitatis. During the three EVAs, totaling a record 22 hours 6 minutes, Cernan and Schmitt collected 112 kilograms (247 pounds) of material for return to Earth. They also drove a lunar roving vehicle approximately 35 kilometers (22 miles).
Apollo 17 was the first mission to include a scientist in its crew. Geologist Harrison "Jack" Schmitt was one of the first six scientist-astronauts selected in 1965 amid immense pressure to do so from the National Academy of Sciences, which was worried that only test pilots would get the opportunity to walk on the moon.