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News Release

12 September 2007

  CAPTAIN EUGENE A. CERNAN, USN, (RET.)

ASTRONAUT, NAVY PILOT, AEROSPACE AMBASSADOR AND LAST PERSON TO WALK ON THE MOON

IS THE WINNER OF THE

2007 WRIGHT BROTHERS MEMORIAL TROPHY

The National Aeronautic Association (NAA), the oldest aviation organization in the United States , is very proud to announce that Captain Eugene Cernan, USN, (Ret) is the winner of the 2007 Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy.

The trophy, presented annually by NAA, is awarded "…to a living American for significant public service of enduring value to aviation in the United States ." It is one of the most prestigious aviation trophies in the world and previous winners include Charles Lindbergh, Igor Sikorski, Juan Trippe, Senator Barry Goldwater, Kelly Johnson, Herb Kelleher, Neil Armstrong, and Senator John Glenn.

Captain Cernan was selected for the trophy due to his extraordinary lifetime of achievement as an Astronaut, Naval Aviator, and Ambassador for Aerospace.

“We are very proud that Gene Cernan has been selected to receive the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy,'' explained Walter Boyne, Chairman of NAA. “It is one of the great honors in aviation, and Captain Cernan deserves it for all he has done for the United States and its aerospace industry.”

One of fourteen astronauts selected by NASA in October 1963, Cernan helped pilot the Gemini IX mission in 1966, and, during the mission, became the second American to walk in space. He subsequently served as backup pilot for Gemini 12 and as backup pilot for Apollo 7. On his second space flight, in 1969, he was lunar module pilot of Apollo 10, the final test of an Apollo lunar module. During this mission he piloted the Lunar Module to within 8 nautical miles of the lunar surface. Cernan's next assignment was backup spacecraft commander for Apollo 14.

He made his third space flight as Spacecraft Commander of Apollo 17-- the last scheduled manned mission to the moon for the United States -- which commenced at 11:33 P.M. (CST), December 6, 1972 . With him on the voyage of the command module " America " and the lunar module "Challenger" were Ronald Evans (Command Module Pilot) and Harrison H. (Jack) Schmitt (Lunar Module Pilot). In maneuvering "Challenger" to a landing at Taurus-Littrow, located on the southeast edge of Mare Serenitatis, Cernan and Schmitt activated a base of operations from which they completed three highly successful excursions to the nearby craters and the Taurus Mountains , making the Moon their home for over three days. This last mission to the moon established several new records for manned space flight that include: longest manned lunar landing flight (301 hours 51 minutes); longest lunar surface extravehicular activities (22 hours 6 minutes); largest lunar sample return (an estimated 115 kg (249 lbs.); and longest time in lunar orbit (147 hours 48 minutes). Apollo 17 ended with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean approximately 0.4 miles from the target point and 4.3 miles form the prime recovery ship USS TICONDEROGA.

After logging 566 hours and 15 minutes in space -- of which more than 73 hours were spent on the surface of the moon -- Cernan assumed additional duties for NASA on the development and evaluation of the joint United States/Soviet Union Apollo-Soyuz mission and he acted for the program manager as the senior United States negotiator in direct discussions with the USSR on the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.

As a Navy Officer, Captain Cernan accumulated over 5000 hours of flying time mostly in jet aircraft and made over 200 aircraft carrier landings. He currently advises NASA on the planned Lunar and Mars missions and has been deeply involved with the Bombardier Safety Standdown – one of the largest safety conferences in the world -- for the last eight years. He is rated and Captain qualified in the Lear 40 and 45.

His honors and awards include the Master Pilot Award from the Federal Aviation Administration; induction into the National Aviation Hall of Fame; Naval Aviation Hall of Fame; and the U.S. Space Hall of Fame; two NASA Distinguished Service Medals; the NASA Exceptional Service Medal; the Joint Chiefs of Staff Superior Achievement Award; two Navy Distinguished Service Medals; the Navy Astronaut Wings; the Navy Distinguished Flying Cross; the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Special Trustees Award; and the Fédèration Aéronautique Internationale Gold Space Medal for 1972.

Captain Cernan will receive this prestigious trophy at the Aero Club of Washington's Wright Memorial Dinner on December 14, 2007 .

Jonathan Gaffney, President of NAA and Chairman of the Selection Committee, offered “We had many commendable nominations for this great trophy, but Captain Cernan's lifetime of achievement made him a very worthy choice.”

For information or reservations for the event, please call Nancy Hackett at 703/327-7082 or e-mail at nancy@aeroclub.org