Gene Cernan (born 1934) was the commander of a manned mission that touched down on the moon's surface in December 1972. Harrison ("Jack") Schmitt accompanied him, becoming the first professional scientist to walk on the moon. Cernan and Schmitt lived for three days on the moon, using their small Lunar Module as a kind of tent on the ultimate geologist's field trip, while their crewmate Ron Evans waited for their return in the orbiting Command Module.

Cernan was born on March 14, 1934 in Chicago, Illinois. At an early age he wanted to be an aviator, and joined the Navy to follow his dream. Cernan received his navy commission from the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, and immediately began flight training. He flew on Attack Squadrons 26 and 112 based at the Miramar, California, Naval Air Station, and then went to Naval Postgraduate School.

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