Apollo 17 landed at the Taurus–Littrow valley, where astronauts discovered distinctive orange lunar soil.
The landing occurred on 11 December 1972, with Eugene Cernan commanding the lunar module and Harrison Schmitt serving as lunar module pilot. The valley offered access to both relatively young volcanic deposits and older highland rocks, making it one of the most scientifically ambitious Apollo landing sites.
During an excursion, Schmitt noticed unusual orange material near Shorty crater. The crew sampled it and brought it back to Earth, where scientists determined that the color came from tiny volcanic glass beads. The material was produced by an ancient explosive volcanic eruption rather than by ordinary surface dust.
Taurus–Littrow is sometimes confused with Apollo 15's Hadley–Apennine site or Apollo 16's Descartes Highlands. Its scientific value came from the close juxtaposition of volcanic and ancient highland materials.