Video: 'Apollo 17: On the Shoulders of Giants (BEST QUALITY)' (final moments on the moon at 20:16)

(Thursday, December 14, 1972, 12:41 a.m. EST) — Apollo 17 astronaut Eugene A. Cernan, 38, climbed into the lunar module Challenger early this morning, following fellow astronaut Harrison Schmitt, to become the last person to have set foot on the moon to date.

“As I take these last steps from the surface for some time into the future to come, I’d just like to record that America’s challenge of today has forged man’s destiny of tomorrow,” Cernan said moments before entering the Apollo 17 landing ship.

Video: 1972: 'Apollo 17 Lunar Liftoff HD (Inside and Outside view)'

Then he added “And, as we leave the Moon at Taurus-Littrow, we leave as we came and, God willing, as we shall return: with peace and hope for all mankind. Godspeed the crew of Apollo 17.”

Video: 1972: 'KNBC-4 December 19, 1972 The Final Flight of Apollo 17 Splash Down'

At 5:55 p.m. EDT, the Challenger lunar module lifted off from the surface of the Moon, to return to lunar orbit.

It soon docked with the command and service module (CSM), piloted by astronaut Ronald Evans, to prepare for Apollo 17’s journey to a safe homecoming on Dec. 19, 1972.