[danpass]

The last man in the 20th century to walk on the Moon (hey, glass half full thinking )

I visited the Naval Aviation Museum at NAS Pensacola earlier this month and remembered these pics:












.

 

[sulaco]

I was pretty sure that Eugene wore a straight lug Speedy Ref 105.003 which was in a pretty beat up shape and which is still
on display at the Omega Museum.

Here´s a picture of it.

 

[MH434]

I believe that Cernan used three different NASA Speedmasters for his three missions:

Gemini 9 : NASA #28 (most likely the pictured 105.003)
Apollo 10: NASA #41 (a 105.012-65)
Apollo 17: NASA #67 (the OP's pictured 105.012, worn on the moon)

My 105.012-65 says hello:



Reference: Armstrong, Aldrin, Collins and other astronaut Speedys - The definitive list

 

[sulaco]

Makes sense that he had more than one, but the little tag in the Museum states that the one shown on display is the one worn on his Moon Mission.

 

[premoon]

Yes me too, quite surprised, I heard and read several times that Cernan had a 105.003 Straight Lugs for the/his last mission to Moon with Apollo 17, 7th Dec 1972.........

105.003 was the first watch out in Space with Ed White (1965, 3rd June) and last one on Moon with Gene Cernan (1972, 7th Dec). Thats one of the reasons Straight Lugs are so looked after and expensive...

Phil.

 

[Peter C]

Thanks for great photos
Yes that's the 105.012 65 NASA#67

 

[Peter C]

Thanks for great photos
Yes that's the 105.012 65 NASA#67

oops my error, for accuracy its a 105.012 66 - didn't read my own list!

 

[Buzz]

I have got to say...His book 'Last man on the moon' is a great read. Just finished it the other day.
I recommend it!

 

[premoon]

To support my position on this:

 

[mikkolopez]

pretty useful info here

 

[Peter C]

Now I think about it I remember seeing him wearing 2 watches on the Apollo 17 footage inside the CM (and likely the LM) - one on a JB champion (probably the 105.003 - his previously used "personal" one) and one on velcro (probably the above 105.012 66 nasa #67 ) which I suppose must have been the one he wore on the Moon.

 

[MH434]

This nasa.gov site lists the NASA #67 Speedmaster 105.012-66 issued to Commander Cernan for Apollo 17:

Omega Speedmaster Watches

Maybe he took the 105.003 as a backup? In any case, all evidence I've seen appears to indicate that the Omega Speedmaster Professional 105.012 was the first, and the last, watch worn on the moon.

The 105.012 was also the most flown variant of Speedmaster by NASA during the 60's and early 70's:

Gemini 11

Apollo 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17

Apollo-Soyuz Test program

SkyLab 3,4

Given all this there is some considerable weight to the argument that the 105.012 is the most collectible Speedmaster for the space afficianado...

 

[MH434]

Here is a picture of Commander Cernan on the moon during the Apollo 17 mission:



And here is a close up of his Speedmaster:



Twisted lugs and velcro! So a 105.012.

 

[MH434]

Just found an interesting picture of Commander Cernan after splash down:



He appears to be wearing two watches (look closely), one on a JB and the other on a NASA velcro. So, as Peter C noted, probably both watches went on the trip, but we can be certain from other photos that only the 105.012 would have been used on the three EVA's (and no way they would have been allowed to swap bracelets in zero G!).

 

[Peter C]

Re: Apollo 17 Commander Gene Cernan's Omega Speedmaster - 2 watches

Following on from my memory above - here's one of Gene Cernan wearing the 2 watches in the Apollo 17 CM - you can never have enough time! Preference for wearing his watches on the inside of his wrist then I notice.

 

[MH434]

Re: Apollo 17 Commander Gene Cernan's Omega Speedmaster - 2 watches

Thanks Peter C for the great picture. Surely the Apollo missions must rank right up there as the greatest adventure mankind has ever undertaken? What an engineering and human feat. I like this quote from Commander Cernan:

"The question that I am asked most frequently is: "Did going to the Moon change you?" I would like to think that I am the same person I have always been. But how could having lived on another planet not force at least some sort of change? Walking on the Moon and walking on Main Street are two entirely different experiences. I can always walk on Main Street again, but I can never return to my valley of Taurus-Littrow, and that cold fact has left me with a yearning restlessness. It was perhaps the brightest moment of my life, and I can't go back. I am one of only twelve human beings to have stood on the Moon. I have come to accept that, and the enormous responsibility it carries, but as for finding a suitable encore, nothing has ever come close."

 

[premoon]

Re: Apollo 17 Commander Gene Cernan's Omega Speedmaster - 2 watches

Pffffffff.....what an experience......we can't even imagine how we feel after such trip. Only 12 exceptional guys know that extraordinary sensation.
And thinking that some peolpe have doubts about the Moon Walk makes me cross.....

Phil.

 

[danpass]

Re: Apollo 17 Commander Gene Cernan's Omega Speedmaster - 2 watches

Just remembered this from a visit to Kennedy Space Center (specifically the Astronaut Hall of Fame down the street) a couple of years ago

 

[daeskimo]

Re: Apollo 17 Commander Gene Cernan's Omega Speedmaster - 2 watches

you'd think if they made a giant replica, they'd at least do one of the 105.012 with the applied logo and dot over 90...

 

[Perseus]

Re: Apollo 17 Commander Gene Cernan's Omega Speedmaster - 2 watches

Wow that's really cool. Thanks for sharing.