Tiny glass beads formed in the fires of explosive volcanic eruptions on the moon, and brought back to Earth by Apollo 17, reveal their secrets.

Apollo 17 was the first Apollo mission to include a scientist as part of the crew. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Apollo ...

Apollo 17 was his first mission into space, and would be the first astronaut-scientist to step on the surface of the Moon. Accompanying him was Eugene ‘Gene’ Cernan, ...

Apollo 17 commander Eugene A. Cernan is holding the lower corner of the American flag during the mission's first EVA, December 12, 1972. (Photograph by Harrison J. "Jack" Schmitt, NASA) ...

Apollo 17 lights the night: NASA's last lunar landing mission lifted off at 12:33 a.m. EST on Dec. 7, 1972, 40 years ago. NASA Apollo 17's legacy: more than just the last. Unlike being the first ...

Lunar dust collected by Apollo 17 astronauts in the 1970s has revealed that the moon is 40 million years older than previously believed. After landing on the moon on December 11, 1972, NASA ...

Apollo 17, left, blasting off from Launchpad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Dec. 7, 1972, and Artemis I lifting off from Launchpad 39B on Nov. 16.

The Apollo 17 Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) is photographed near a large lunar boulder during the third Apollo 17 extravehicular activity (EVA) at the Taurus-Littrow landing site.

Apollo 17, the last of the missions to land men on the moon, began 40 years ago today with the dawning of a man-made sun. Lifting off just after midnight on Dec. 7, 1972, the Apollo 17 mission was ...