KITT PEAK

KITT PEAK NATIONAL OBSERVATORY

Tucson today is frequently referred to as the “Astronomical Capital of the World.” The concentration of astronomical facilities in the surrounding mountains is probably not equalled, either in number or in breadth of observational capability, anywhere else in the world. This by no means involves Kitt Peak National Observatory alone. The University of Arizona, with its Steward Observatory, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, and Optical Sciences Center, The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, with a station on Mt. Hopkins in the Santa Rita Mountains, and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory all have major installations within a 50-mile radius of the city. In total, there are now more than 25 telescopes devoted full time to research. These facilities represent capital investment of more than $60 million and they have annual operating budgets in excess of $10 million. Employment at these installations totals nearly 500 persons on a full-time basis, not to mention many students, both undergraduate and graduate, and hundreds of visiting astronomers from all parts of the United States who make use of their facilities each year.

For centuries, the mountaintop site and the mysteries of the universe so brilliantly evident in the night sky above it had been joined together in the religious lore of the Papago Indians. Legends described Kitt Peak, on the edge of the Papago Reservation in Southern Arizona, as a favorite dwell-ing place of Ee-Ee-Toy, Papago god whose chief abode was “at the center of the universe” on the crest of spectacular Baboquivari Peak, 12 miles to the south.

In 1958, this cosmic connection became a part of the life and land as well as the religious faith of the Papago tribe. In that year, Kitt Peak was selected as the site, and construction was begun for what was to become this country's first national astronomical observatory.

Fifteen years later, on a brilliant day of June, 1973, U.S. scientists in the company of their colleagues from a host of other nations throughout the world dedicated the telescope that now fulfills a major part of the original, and very ambitious design for Kitt Peak as a national research center.

The event inaugurated an impressive addition to the observing complex that over this period has come to represent one of the world's largest concentrations of major research facilities for stellar, solar, and planetary astronomy. The Nicholas U. Mayall Telescope, named in honor of Kitt Peak's director from 1960 until his retirement in 1971, became operational in March this year when starlight was first reflected from its 158-inch-diameter primary mirror and brought to an image 35 feet above the shiny, aluminum-coated surface of this precisely figured 15-ton block of fused quartz.

Now the functional life of the world's most advanced optical telescope was about to formally begin after 12 years of plan-ning and construction. Second only in size to the older 200-inch Hale Telescope on Mount Palomar in Southern California, Kitt Peak's 4-meter became our most powerful instrument for studying heretofore very faint stars and galaxies at the observable limits of the universe.

The theme of the occasion was very much one of promise fulfilled and opportunity opened. The dedication ceremony held in the 185-foot-high dome, equivalent to a 19-story build-ing, in which the telescope is housed, climaxed two days in which distinguished astronomers had described the present exciting development and intellectual challenge in their science and speculated on where the accelerating, and often revolutionary, pace of discovery might lead during the immediate lifetime of the Mayall telescope.

The keynote speaker, Dr. H. Guyfor Stever, director of Kitt Peak's sponsoring agency of the Federal Government, the National Science Foundation, said in his address: “These are exciting and rewarding days for Kitt Peak National Observatory and for the science of astronomy. This impressive complex and its supporting facilities and organizations represent one of the world's most complete and advanced centers for optical astronomy.” The Observatory's director since 1971, Dr. Leo Goldberg, who was to dedicate the new instrument in the name of his predecessor, opened the ceremonies by noting: “With the completion of this telescope Kitt Peak National Observatory reaches maturity as a great world center.” He went on to describe the brief but impressive history of Kitt Peak's development from its conception in the 1950s, at a time when the National Science Foundation's total budget for all fields of science, not astronomy alone was less than half of the $10 million cost of the new telescope!

For members of the Papago tribe, the vision of what Kitt Peak might become had been captured some years before, when they were approached by the Science Foundation's representatives for permission to establish an observatory on their land. At first, when told that the 6,875-foot ridge located 40 air miles west of Tucson, near the eastern boundary of their nearly three-million-acre reservation would make an excellent site, the tribal council was not inclined to grant this use of their revered mountain. Many members were not sure what an observatory was and had assumed that the scientific activities to be carried out there would include the firing of rockets and other activities that might disturb the many villages that dot the reservation, the second largest after the Navajo in Arizona. During the negotiations, tribal representatives were invited to look through the 36-inch telescope of the University of Arizona's Steward Observatory in Tucson. What they saw awed them. But perhaps more to the point in effecting a mutually advantageous lease agreement, it convinced them that astronomical research would not despoil the natural beauty of their lands, nor would it impose unduly on the peace and quiet of the surrounding communities. With Papago consent, the U.S. Congress passed a special law allowing perpetuity of the lease for as long as scientific research facilities are maintained at the site.

The shapes of Arizona's two big astronomic eyes at Kitt Peak are identified outwardly as the McMath Solar Telescope, below, and the Mayall 4 meter (158 inches) Telescope, right. The McMath Solar Telescope is the largest of its kind in the world. The slanting shaft installation parallels the earth's polar axis at 32.5°, thus allowing the electrically driven heliostat to follow the sun and keep its image immovably centered. The 4 meter Mayall Telescope is the second largest and most advanced device of its type in the United States.

Photographs by John H. Lutnes Director and Producer of three Kitt Peak National Observatory films. (Unless otherwise noted)

"The most beautiful and most profound emotion we can experience is the sensation of the mystical. It is the source of all true science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead. To know that what is impenetrable to us really exists, manifesting itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty which our dull faculties can comprehend only in their most primitive forms this knowledge, this feeling is at the center of true religiousness." ALBERT EINSTEIN Photographs by JOHN H. LUTNES, K.P.N.O.

The photograph above was taken from the heliostat deck of the McMath Solar Telescope, showing the 36 inch and 84 inch telescopes in the background. From the opposite viewpoint, below, the human figure standing beside the heliostat shows the scale of the solar telescope.

Artist Robert McCall spent two exciting days doing “on the spot” sketches of Kitt Peak. — JOHN H. LUTNES

The Papago found the gods closer on those High places, the islands that rise sharply out Of flat desert's dry heat. A few short, stout And twisted pine crown where others froze Or gave before the winds oft-varied blast. A man who braved the steep, dry rocks could talk With gods and gather kernels from the stalk And add to hard-won knowledge from the past.

Now white domes glitter cold against the sky As wise men question bright and ancient star. With vast machines and reason they ask why The stars shine brightly, spin and move afar. Oh, men have always asked the ultimate Of skies; to gain a god's mastery of fate.

Both artist and photographer are necessary to document the reality of the complicated and intricate systems of mirrors, prisms and wondrous devices of the Solar Telescope Observation Room. Robert McCall's extreme wide vision rendering shows the white paths of light beamed across the room and onto tables. Photographs on the opposite page show the circle of the sun being observed on a table top and, lower, the form of an airplane photographed against the rising sun. Actual location of the plane is estimated to be over the El Paso, Texas, area.

LIGHTNING OVER KITT PEAK

The picture was taken June 4, 1972 at about 9:00 P.M. This was the first of about 8 nights during the summer that I photographed the lightning displays. Of the approximately 100 slides that resulted, this one is unique.

From my numerous futile attempts to duplicate the effects of this photograph, I concluded that two conditions were very important in producing the unusual results.

One, the bolts were hitting very close, supplying the nearly shadowless illumination of the mountain and also exhibiting themselves in detail.

Two, although it had been raining intermittently, it was not during the time of exposure. Rain falling between the lightning and the camera reflects the light making the background white and reducing the picture quality.

The camera was a Nikkormat FTN with a Nikkor 28mm lens attached. A skylight filter was in place and a tripod and cable release were used. Film Kodachrome II, exposure about 1 minute, f-stop 3.5, focus infinity, luck absolutely incredible (1 in 106).

Artist McCall's painting, opposite page, illustrates the immensity of the 158 inch telescope note the size of the man in the boatswain's chair swinging above the upper tube, coordinating with his colleague inside the illuminated compartment. The structural forms pictured on the sides are part of the massive counterbalancing system. Below, the 36 foot Millimeter Wave Radio Telescope of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. With this instrument scientists listen instead of see. It is very important in the study of short radio wave lengths. Every six years the "skin" of the dome is removed and a new one put on. During this time the telescope is completely exposed to the heavens which it probes daily.

The observatory has one of the largest optical shops in the world. It is capable of making mirrors up to 150 plus inches in diameter, and polishing them to within accuracies of one or two millionths of an inch. It was here that the Mayall 158 inch fused quartz mirror was ground and polished. At present, the shop's stellar attraction is to complete the 150 inch Cer-Vit mirror for the Cerro-Tololo Inter American Observatory in Chile.

OPPOSITE PAGE: Looking down "the chimney" into the 16 ton quartz mirror of the 4 meter telescope.

TRIFID NEBULA IN SAGITTARIUS

158 inch Mayall Telescope PHOTOGRAPHER, WILLIAM SCHOENING, Κ.Ρ.Ν.Ο.

Sagittarius is one of the most striking of the 88 recognized constellations.

A constellation is a group of stars within a specific region. Constellations should be thought of as geographical entities, each being the address of all permanent and temporary objects within its borders. From Earth we can only measure a constellation's horizontal dimensions. The depth or vertical dimension is infinite. Objects at vast distances beyond the stars are considered within the confines of a constellation. Thus beyond the known stars are stars whose light has yet to reach the planet Earth.

Sagittarius is a constellation crowded with wonders. One of these is the famous Trifid Nebula, represented by the triple-lobe mass of gas and dust dominating the opposite page. Classified as a diffuse nebula, it is unusually fascinating with a kaleidoscopic pattern of cosmic dust. In a small telescope it appears as a mere hazy glow. Far short of the Mayall Telescope's optimum limits, Trifid Nebula represents an area of Sagittarius approximately 3,500 light years away from Earth one light year is six million million (6,000,000,000,000) miles in space. Contemplate this mind-boggling conclusion. Place our Mayall Telescope within Trifid and aim it Earthward to a point in the Middle East. What we would be seeing would be what happened some 3,500 years ago on Earth in the land and times 1,500 years before Christ was born. We might, on a clear day, see a Pharaoh's Pyramid being built.

KITT PEAK from page 16

This was the beginning of a unique, cordial, and mutually beneficial relationship between the personnel of what soon thereafter was to be designated as the Kitt Peak National Observatory and members of the Papago Nation. Papago workers made a significant contribution during the initial construction of facilities on the mountain and they have been employed since then in many areas of the Observatory's operation. One of the features of the lease agreement was that Papago arts and crafts could be sold to Observatory visitors. All proceeds from such handicrafts would go directly to the Indian artisans.

In the history of American science, no site involved in optical astronomy observation has ever been selected with such care and meticulous consideration. The requirements were exacting: a high frequency of clear weather; dry, stable air; high enough to be above the dust, fog, and smoke of the lowlands, but low enough to avoid the major weather patterns of high mountain regions; a dark sky, to provide the background necessary for observing the faintest astronomical sources; and location near a supporting city with a major university.

The search began in 1955 with more than 150 potential locations extending across the continental U.S. and to Hawaii. But the Southwest, with its clear skies, mountains, and arid climate, enjoyed a number of built-in advantages, and as a result, it early was recognized that this region offered the best possibilities. Survey teams carried out their work on foot and horseback and by Jeep and airplane. By June, 1956, all but five of the 150 sites under consideration had been eliminated. Then began two years of extensive tests with equipment that measured the clarity of the air and the sharpness of the stellar images that could be obtained at each location.

One of the five was Kitt Peak, which first had attracted attention in photographs made from the Viking 12 rocket launched early in 1955 from White Sands, New Mexico.

By March, 1958, the nearly three-year survey and testing program now completed, Kitt Peak was announced as the first choice for location of the Observatory. Good "seeing," a term astronomers use to describe the effects of the atmosphere on the size and quality of astronomical images, was a decisive factor along with a high frequency of clear and cloud free days and nights, summit area suitable for development, vegetation cover, and proximity to Tucson and the University of Arizona. Still another important consideration was that Kitt Peak was "out of phase" with the weather cycle prevailing along the West coast, where several large observatories, among them Mount Wilson and Palomar and the Lick on Mount Hamilton, are located. Their best observing conditions are in the summer months, while Kitt Peak offers favorable winter conditions. This meant then that some of the nation's largest telescopes would be available under the best observing conditions at all times during the year.Thus was born what has come to be a major new "industry" in Southern Arizona, astronomical research.

Appropriate to its designation as astronomical "capital," Tucson also has an impressive share of the chief executives of major professional organizations in the field of astronomy. Kitt Peak's director, Dr. Goldberg, was elected in August as president of the International Astronomical Union, the world body under the International Council of Scientific Unions with which more than 2,600 individual astronomers in 46 nations are affiliated. The principal organization of astronomers in the U.S., the American Astronomical Society, which will be meeting in Tucson in December, is headed by Professor Bart Bok, of the University of Arizona's Steward Observatory, who is also one of three vice presidents of the international union. And Professor Ray J. Weymann of the University, director of the Steward Observatory, is president of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, with a membership drawn from the ranks of both professional astronomers and interested laymen, particularly in the West Coast region.

Establishment of Kitt Peak as a national observatory in 1958 was itself a first. But it also represented a significant departure in the way that this country provides the large-scale, costly, and often unique research facilities required to push back observational frontiers in the field of astronomy.

Heretofore, the large observatories and telescopes, such as those on the West Coast, had been privately financed and operated. And, in general, they were available for use mainly by astronomers associated as faculty or staff members of those particular institutions.

Fundamental to the concept of the national observatory was that it should be a center whose facilities would be generally available to the entire scientific community. This was recognized as important to the growth of a broadly based U.S. capability for research in this field one not limited by access to the large facilities required for frontier research. It was also recognized as the "cost effective" approach, given the accelerating costs for development and construction of these advanced instruments and the likelihood that they could not be duplicated at a number of locations.

To provide the maximum return, then, from the limited federal funds that were available to support new large telescopes, it was proposed to locate such facilities at a national center whose operation would be oriented toward the needs of a great variety of users, particularly from the nation's universities. The recommendations from a number of advisory groups of astronomers called together by the National Science Foundation strongly concurred in this concept of a cooperative observing center at a prime location, which would serve all branches of astronomy and provide equal observational opportunities for all astronomers and all institutions. The principal criteria for the use of these facilities would be the competence of the investigator and the scientific merit of his proposed research.

Kitt Peak's operation today, now fully established as a national center, follows very closely this original design. Sixty percent of the observing time on the array of stellar and solar telescopes available on the mountain is allotted to visiting astronomers and graduate students. The remaining 40 percent is used by members of the Observatory's scientific staff, for their own research as well as for testing new instrumentation, systems, and procedures necessary to constantly maintain and upgrade the telescopes. During the year just past, outside users totaled nearly 250 astronomers from 69 different U.S. institutions, mostly universities, and from 14 foreign institutions.

To direct this operation, the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), Inc., was created in 1957, during the final days of the site survey that led to Kitt Peak's selection. From seven charter members it now has grown to 12 outstanding and well-known universities, whose varied distinctions include in each case a strong research and graduate-training program in ground-based optical astronomy. Their role is to provide a management structure that can reflect on a continuing basis the best judgment of the scientific community on research priorities, on needs for new facilities, and on the overall development of the Observatory program. AURA was chartered as a nonprofit corporation in Arizona and then entered into a contract with the National Science Foundation through which it has been responsible for the construction, development, and continuing operation of Kitt Peak. The member universities are: University of Arizona, California Institute of Technology, University of California, University of Chicago, Harvard University, Indiana University, University of Michigan, Ohio State University, Princeton University, University of Texas at Austin, University of Wisconsin, and Yale University. Two representatives from each institution a scientist and an administrator serve on the AURA board of directors along with five representatives elected at large by the board from the scientific community.

AURA's responsibility as a corporate university group also extends to the operation of Kitt Peak's sister facility for observations of the southern skies, the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. This observatory, for studies of that 25 percent of the sky that cannot be seen from the Northern Hemisphere, was established in 1963, again with National Science Foundation support. Kitt Peak and Cerro Tololo are two of four NSF-supported national astronomy centers. The other two, for radio astronomy, are the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Greenbank, West Virginia, and the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center, Arecibo, Puerto Rico.

Kitt Peak has its headquarters in Tucson, occupying a city block adjacent to the University of Arizona campus and its related activities in astronomy. Here the Observatory maintains the complete engineering support capability for the operations on the mountain, including the drafting, electronics, instrument and optical shops in which telescopes and auxiliary instrumentation are developed and maintained and from which technical and logistic support is provided for the operations both on Kitt Peak and in Chile. This includes the capability for grinding and polishing large telescope mirrors up to the size of the 158-inch mirror for the new Mayall telescope and a nearly identical "twin" scheduled to be completed in 1975 on Cerro Tololo.

The mirror is not only the heart of the optical system of a telescope, but also it symbolizes the exacting nature of the quest by astronomers to capture light from the farthest reaches of space from objects that represent the earliest beginnings of the universe. The 158-inch mirrors, the one for Chile still in the optical shop in Tucson, are polished to accuracies of one or two millionths of an inch. Their light-gathering power is the equivalent of a million human eyes. Within the telescope, they literally ride on air, supported by a system of pneumatic pistons that have been designed to maintain the same precision in the alignment of its concave surface, regardless of the direction the telescope points in the sky, which was so painstakingly achieved in the polishing of the surface itself in the case of the Mayall telescope, a process that took more than three years from the time it arrived in Tucson until, last February, it was installed in the completed telescope.

Why large telescopes and why astronomy? National Science Foundation director Stever, in his dedication address, suggested a part of the scientific as well as the human justification for this oldest and perhaps most fundamental of all sciences. He said, "We know that man's deepest wonder about himself and the world around him was first stirred as he turned his eyes toward the heavens and contemplated their vastness, their beauty, their orderliness, and the influence their changes seemed to have on his life. From this initial curiosity, and the investigation and knowledge to follow, was to emerge so much that would bring order and meaning and new growth to our lives. What we have dedicated here today is not only a new telescope to carry out the goals of a great observatory. It is a symbol of man's continued determination to strive for more fundamental knowledge to search out the limits of the universe, to probe for an understanding of the very essence of matter and life, to attempt always to know the unknown. That is the meaning of basic research but more than that, it is one of the bases of our humanity. Let us hope that we never lose that endless need to know that spirit that keeps us forever reaching for the stars."

EDWARD D. AEBISCHER Director, Public Information Kitt Peak National Observatory

WE CAME IN PEACE FOR ALL MANKIND . . . . THE APOLLO STORY

The astronauts of Apollo 8 Frank Borman, James Lovell and William Anders made the first circum-lunar journey. They went round the Moon ten times at Christmas 1968, and so became the first men to have a direct view of the Moon from close range. Their minimum distance from the surface was a mere 70 miles. Apollo 9 was an Earth-orbiter; Apollo 10, launched on May 18, 1969, carried Astronauts Stafford, Cernan and Young on another round trip during which the lunar module was tested, swooping down to only 10 miles from the ground. Finally, in July 1969, Apollo 11 fulfilled the promise that had been made years earlier by President Kennedy. While Michael Collins circled the Moon in the Command Module of the space-craft, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin stepped out on to the bleakness of the Mare Tranquillitatis. Just before 3 a.m. on July 21, listeners all over the world heard Armstrong's words as he set foot on the Moon: 'That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.' Apollo 12 was sent up in November of the same year; this time Charles Conrad and Alan Bean made the descent, landing exactly on target close to the grounded Surveyor 3 automatic probe which had been on the Moon since April 1967, but whose power had long since failed. The astronauts were even able to bring back parts of it, including the camera. After they had set up their experiments, undertaken two moon-walks and blasted back to rejoin their colleague Richard Gordon in the orbiting Command Module, the ascent stage of the lunar module was deliberately crashed back onto the Moon, setting up vibrations which were recorded by the seismometer and which went on for almost an hour. Few people need to be reminded of the drama of Apollo 13, the space-craft of April 1970, in which the three members of the crew James Lovell, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert so nearly met their deaths. Everything went wrong; a crippling explosion during the outward journey wrecked the all-important service module, and it was only through miracles of improvisation by the ground controllers, plus the incredible courage and coolness of the astronauts themselves, that disaster was averted. The one scientific result was again with the seismometer. The final stage of the massive launcher was crashed onto the Moon, and the equipment which had been deposited there by Conrad and Bean recorded vibrations which persisted for three hours. Unquestionably the setback was severe, but it could be and was overcome. Apollo 14, of February 1971, restored the situation. It was perhaps fitting that the commander of the expedition should be Alan Shepard, who had been America's first man in space almost ten years earlier. With him was Edgar Mitchell; Stuart Roosa remained in orbit around the Moon. This time the landing was in the uplands near the old crater Fra Mauro; success was complete. Quarantining of the astronauts and their lunar samples had been strictly enforced during all the early flights, even though it was generally agreed that the risks of bringing back harmful material were absolutely negligible. The Moon-rock proved to be of intense interest and of essentially basaltic type; it was very old, and it seemed that the Moon and the Earth must be of around the same age (approximately 4,700 million years) even though they had never formed one body. The lunar magnetic field-was extremely weak, and atmosphere was lacking. There was no evidence of hydrated material, which effectively disposed of the theory that the maria had once been waterfilled; and, as fully expected, there was a total absence of any trace of life, either past or present. Evidence from the seismometers confirmed that mild 'moonquakes' do occur, and that they are commonest near perigee. Moreover, the Apollo 14 equipment recorded what seemed to be gaseous emissions from below the crust, which came as no real surprise to those who such as myself had always believed in a certain amount of activity there. Then, in 1971, came the epic flight of Apollo 15. Astronauts David Scott and James Irwin landed in the foothills of the Apennines, near the great winding Hadley Rill, and actually went for a drive in a specially-designed 'car', the Moon Rover. Hadley itself proved to be what Scott termed 'a strangely uniform mountain' very different from the jagged peaks pictured by writers of science fiction. Meantime Astronaut Alfred Worden was orbiting the Moon, carrying out experiments and taking superb photographs. Apollo 15 was a truly scientific mission, and paved the way for Apollo 16 of spring 1972, where the target area was in the rough region of the crater Descartes and once again a Moon Rover was carried to the lunar surface (and, incidentally, left there!). Apollo 17 was the last of the Lunar landing missions and concluded the program. The crew was Eugene A. Cernan, Commander, Ronald E. Evans, and Harrison H. Schmitt. Unique to this mission was the fact that Schmitt, with a Ph.D. in geology, was the first scientist-astronaut on the moon.

Unquestionably the setback was severe, but it could be and was overcome. Apollo 14, of February 1971, restored the situation. It was perhaps fitting that the commander of the expedition should be Alan Shepard, who had been America's first man in space almost ten years earlier. With him was Edgar Mitchell; Stuart Roosa remained in orbit around the Moon. This time the landing was in the uplands near the old crater Fra Mauro; success was complete. Quarantining of the astronauts and their lunar samples had been strictly enforced during all the early flights, even though it was generally agreed that the risks of bringing back harmful material were absolutely negligible. The Moon-rock proved to be of intense interest and of essentially basaltic type; it was very old, and it seemed that the Moon and the Earth must be of around the same age (approximately 4,700 million years) even though they had never formed one body. The lunar magnetic field-was extremely weak, and atmosphere was lacking. There was no evidence of hydrated material, which effectively disposed of the theory that the maria had once been waterfilled; and, as fully expected, there was a total absence of any trace of life, either past or present. Evidence from the seismometers confirmed that mild 'moonquakes' do occur, and that they are commonest near perigee. Moreover, the Apollo 14 equipment recorded what seemed to be gaseous emissions from below the crust, which came as no real surprise to those who such as myself had always believed in a certain amount of activity there. Then, in 1971, came the epic flight of Apollo 15. Astronauts David Scott and James Irwin landed in the foothills of the Apennines, near the great winding Hadley Rill, and actually went for a drive in a specially-designed 'car', the Moon Rover. Hadley itself proved to be what Scott termed 'a strangely uniform mountain' very different from the jagged peaks pictured by writers of science fiction. Meantime Astronaut Alfred Worden was orbiting the Moon, carrying out experiments and taking superb photographs. Apollo 15 was a truly scientific mission, and paved the way for Apollo 16 of spring 1972, where the target area was in the rough region of the crater Descartes and once again a Moon Rover was carried to the lunar surface (and, incidentally, left there!). Apollo 17 was the last of the Lunar landing missions and concluded the program. The crew was Eugene A. Cernan, Commander, Ronald E. Evans, and Harrison H. Schmitt. Unique to this mission was the fact that Schmitt, with a Ph.D. in geology, was the first scientist-astronaut on the moon.

from "The Picture History of Astronomy" By Patrick Moore Grosset & Dunlap, Publishers, New York