Here is the biography of Eugene Cernan:
Eugene Cernan was born on March 14, 1934, in Chicago, Illinois, to a Czech-American mother, Rose Cihlar, and a Slovak-American father, Andrew Cernan. He graduated from Proviso Township High School in Maywood, Illinois, and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University in 1956. Cernan then earned a Master of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California, and later received Honorary Doctorate of Law and Engineering degrees from Western State University College of Law and Purdue University, respectively.
Cernan joined the United States Navy and received his commission through the Navy ROTC Program at Purdue. He entered flight training and was assigned to Attack Squadrons 26 and 112 at the Miramar, California, Naval Air Station. Cernan later attended the Naval Postgraduate School.
In October 1963, Cernan was one of fourteen astronauts selected by NASA. He occupied the pilot seat alongside command pilot Tom Stafford on the Gemini IX mission, during which he logged two hours and ten minutes outside the spacecraft in extravehicular activities.
Cernan subsequently served as backup pilot for Gemini 12 and as backup lunar module pilot for Apollo 7. On his second space flight, he was lunar module pilot of Apollo 10, May 18-26, 1969, the first comprehensive lunar-orbital qualification and verification flight test of an Apollo lunar module.
After Apollo 10, Cernan took a gamble and turned down the assignment as backup crew of Apollo 13, knowing that from there, he would probably rotate to Apollo 16, giving him a "potential" opportunity to walk on the Moon. His gamble worked, and he became spacecraft Commander of Apollo 17, the last manned mission to the Moon for the United States, on December 6, 1972.
Cernan's mission to the Moon established several new records for manned space flight, including the longest manned lunar landing flight, the longest lunar surface extravehicular activities, the largest lunar sample return, and the longest time in lunar orbit. While on the Moon, Cernan and his lunar module pilot, Harrison Schmitt, conducted three highly successful excursions to the nearby craters and the Taurus mountains, making the Moon their home for over three days.
Cernan left his daughter's initials on the lunar surface (TDC, for Teresa Dawn Cernan, who was born March 4, 1963). He logged 566 hours and 15 minutes in space, of which more than 73 hours were spent on the surface of the Moon.
After retiring from NASA in 1976, Cernan joined Coral Petroleum, Inc., of Houston, Texas, as Executive Vice President-International. He later started his own company, The Cernan Corporation, to pursue management and consultant interests in the energy, aerospace, and other related industries.
Cernan was married to Barbara Jean Atchley from 1961-1981, and they had a daughter, Teresa Dawn. His second marriage was to Jan Nanna Cernan, and they had two daughters, Kelly and Danielle. He was a lover of horses and all competitive sports activities, including hunting, fishing, and flying.
Cernan received numerous honors, including the Navy Distinguished Flying Cross, the Distinguished Service Medal with Star, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, the FAI International Gold Medal for Space, and induction into the U.S. Space Hall of Fame. He was awarded NASAs first Ambassador of Exploration Award, the Federal Aviation Administrations prestigious Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award, and the 2007 Lindbergh Spirit Award.
Cernan wrote the book "The Last Man on the Moon: Astronaut Eugene Cernan and America's Race in Space" (1999) with New York Times bestselling author Don Davis. He died at 82 on January 16, 2017, in Houston, Texas.
