Who was the last person to walk on the Moon?

Eugene Cernan was the last person to walk on the Moon. As commander of Apollo 17, Cernan spent December 13–14, 1972, exploring the lunar surface in the Taurus–Littrow valley with geologist Harrison Schmitt.

Cernan was the eleventh person to walk on the Moon and the last of the twelve lunar surface explorers from the Apollo landings. During Apollo 17’s final moonwalk, he and Schmitt collected rocks, deployed scientific instruments, and drove the Lunar Roving Vehicle farther across the surface than earlier crews. Cernan re-entered the lunar module after Schmitt, making him the final human to leave footprints on the Moon.

Neil Armstrong was the first person to walk there, on Apollo 11, while Buzz Aldrin followed him on that mission. Pete Conrad was the third person to walk on the Moon during Apollo 12. Cernan’s record remains tied to the end of the Apollo lunar-landing era: no human has walked on the Moon since Apollo 17 departed in December 1972.