Moonwalking astronaut predicted humanity’s return to the moon and beyond in 1984
More than 50 years later, the final Apollo mission marks the last human steps on the moon.
I was strolling on the moon one day. After decades of waiting, we’re going back to the moon. I’m Eric Jones, and this is the Archive Explained. NASA’s Artemis mission has already sent *** manned spacecraft slinging around the moon, capturing new images of the far side. And if all goes to plan, astronauts will soon walk on the lunar surface again. But the idea of going back and going further never went away. In this 1984 clip, Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Jack Schmidt, one of the last people to walk on the moon, was already looking ahead. At the time the Apollo missions were over, human space flight had slowed down, but the vision didn’t, and now it’s back. The goal hasn’t changed. On the timeline has. And maybe that’s what makes this moment feel so familiar. We’ve been here before, standing on the edge of what’s next, just waiting for the next leap. The eagle has landed in the late 60s, the space program was *** national movement. But today, even though the space shuttle has succeeded in rekindling some of that spirit, talk of the space program just doesn’t light the fires that it used to. And we should not just go to the moon, we should go back to the moon. We should go to Mars. We should go to Venus. We should go to Jupiter. We should go to other stars. That view is shared by New Mexico’s Harrison Schmidt, the former senator, now private consultant in Albuquerque, was the first geologist and last human to walk the surface of the moon. I was strolling on the moon one day. Oh That’s right. There is an increasing discussion now back to where we were 10 or 15 years ago about visiting Mars, but not only visiting it but settling there. 99 proceeded 321 ignition. Beds are good. After Schmidt’s return in Apollo 17, there was almost *** decade of inactivity in the manned space program, inactivity that Schmidt and others hope now has ended and that will allow establishment of space stations and finally the aggressive exploration of man’s ultimate frontier. One of Schmidt’s favorite quotes is from Thomas Jefferson. He said that *** democracy and this democracy needs *** little revolution every once in *** while. And I suspect that revolution will come when the settlers of Mars decide they’re tired of taxation without representation. Harrison Schmidt will be at the Coronado Mall Sunday to sign autographs and help commemorate Space Week and to promote *** dream of *** future among the stars. Bob Martin, Action 7 News.
Moonwalking astronaut predicted humanity’s return to the moon and beyond in 1984
More than 50 years later, the final Apollo mission marks the last human steps on the moon.
Updated: 10:41 AM EDT Apr 8, 2026
There was a time when going to the moon didn’t feel like a one-time event.In 1972, Apollo 17 astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison “Jack” Schmitt became the last humans to set foot on the lunar surface.At the time, there was still talk of going back.More than 50 years later, we haven’t.Now, as the Artemis mission turns our gaze to the stars once more, that moment feels different.Watch the video to see Schmitt talking about walking on the moon and what he thought would come next.
There was a time when going to the moon didn’t feel like a one-time event.
In 1972, Apollo 17 astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison “Jack” Schmitt became the last humans to set foot on the lunar surface.
At the time, there was still talk of going back.
More than 50 years later, we haven’t.
Now, as the Artemis mission turns our gaze to the stars once more, that moment feels different.
Watch the video to see Schmitt talking about walking on the moon and what he thought would come next.
