Eugene Andrew "
Gene"
Cernan (; born March 14, 1934), (
CAPT,
USN, Ret.), is a retired
American naval officer and
Naval Aviator,
electrical engineer,
aeronautical engineer,
fighter pilot, and
NASA astronaut. He launched into space three times: as Pilot of
Gemini 9A in June 1966, as Lunar Module Pilot of
Apollo 10 in May 1969, and as Commander of
Apollo 17 in December 1972, the final Apollo lunar landing.