James May Speaks to Harrison Schmitt

Harrison Schmitt was a crew member of Apollo 17, the last of Nasa's lunar landings to date. In this interview, compiled from deleted scenes recorded for the documentary James May on the Moon, Schmitt discusses the history of the Moon landings and their significance to the human race. Harrison Schmitt shares the accolade of 'last man on the moon' with fellow Apollo 17 crew member Eugene Cernan.

Schmitt followed Cernan onto the surface of the moon during the final Nasa lunar mission, and so became the last man to set foot on the Moon, although he was not the last to leave it, as he returned to the module before Cernan. The only non-test pilot of the 12 men to have stepped onto the Moon, Schmitt was also the only geologist, and so played an active part in the analysis and documentation of the lunar rock and dust samples acquired during the Apollo missions. After resigning from Nasa in 1975, he served one term as a Republican Senator for New Mexico, from 1977 until 1983.

See more programmes and clips about the Apollo Moon landings.