{"id":19102,"date":"2017-01-17T01:58:49","date_gmt":"2017-01-16T17:58:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/last-man-to-walk-on-the-moon-gene-cernan-leaves-behind-a-dying-wish\/"},"modified":"2017-01-17T01:58:49","modified_gmt":"2017-01-16T17:58:49","slug":"last-man-to-walk-on-the-moon-gene-cernan-leaves-behind-a-dying-wish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/last-man-to-walk-on-the-moon-gene-cernan-leaves-behind-a-dying-wish\/","title":{"rendered":"Last man to walk on the moon, Gene Cernan, leaves behind a dying wish"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Gene
Apollo 17\u2019s Gene Cernan wears a spacesuit smeared with lunar dirt in 1972. (NASA Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Apollo 17 commander Gene Cernan, the last human to leave footprints on the moon, passed away today \u2013 but his family says his dying wish remains to be fulfilled.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven at the age of 82, Gene was passionate about sharing his desire to see the continued human exploration of space, and encouraged our nation\u2019s leaders and young people to not let him remain the last man to walk on the moon,\u201d the family said in a statement released by NASA.<\/p>\n

The family statement said Cernan had been suffering from ongoing health issues. He died at a Houston hospital, surrounded by relatives.<\/p>\n

Cernan, a U.S. Navy captain and fighter jet pilot, was selected as part of NASA\u2019s third group of astronauts in 1963. He performed the world\u2019s third spacewalk during the Gemini 9A mission in 1966, and went around the moon in 1969 as lunar module pilot for Apollo 10, the last practice run before the Apollo 11 landing less than two months later.<\/p>\n