Astronaut Harrison Schimtt, Tucson Gem and Mineral Show

Known by the Apollo astronauts as Dr. Rock, Dr. Harrison H. "Jack" Schmitt is the only scientist to have walked on the Moon. Following the decision to cancel all of the planned Apollo missions after Apollo 17, Dr. Schmitt was moved into the lunar module pilot role for Apollo 17, substituting for original crew member Joe Engle. Along with commander Eugene Cernan, Dr. Schmitt explored the Taurus-Littrow Valley for three days, while command module pilot Ronald Evans orbited above. A record 115 kg (249 lbs) of lunar material was returned.

Following in the footsteps of his father, a mining geologist in New Mexico, Harrison Schmitt earned a Ph.D. in geology from Harvard University in 1964. The following year he was accepted into the astronaut corp as a scientist-astronaut. While working for the U.S. Geological Survey's Astrogeology Center in Flagstaff, Arizona, he became project chief for lunar field geological methods, and mastered photographic and telescopic mapping techniques of the Moon. He became an instructor to the NASA astronauts during their training in lunar geology, and participated in the analysis of the lunar samples which were returned by the Apollo missions. In 1976, Dr. Schmitt was elected to serve his home state of New Mexico in the U.S. Senate, serving a six year term. More recently, he has been appointed as an Adjunct Professor of Engineering at the University of Wisconsin, and Chairman and President of the Annapolis Center for Environmental Quality.


Astronaut Dr. Harrison Schmitt
Dr. Schmitt will be appearing in person at the 2005 show at our Westward Look Resort exhibitor location


[above left] Dr. Schimtt's NASA publicity photo [above left] Dr. Schmitt on the surface of the Moon Photos © NASA
Known by the Apollo astronauts as Dr. Rock, Dr. Harrison H. "Jack" Schmitt is the only scientist to have walked on the Moon. Following the decision to cancel all of the planned Apollo missions after Apollo 17, Dr. Schmitt was moved into the lunar module pilot role for Apollo 17, substituting for original crew member Joe Engle. Along with commander Eugene Cernan, Dr. Schmitt explored the Taurus-Littrow Valley for three days, while command module pilot Ronald Evans orbited above. A record 115 kg (249 lbs) of lunar material was returned. Following in the footsteps of his father, a mining geologist in New Mexico, Harrison Schmitt earned a Ph.D. in geology from Harvard University in 1964. The following year he was accepted into the astronaut corp as a scientist-astronaut. While working for the U.S. Geological Survey's Astrogeology Center in Flagstaff, Arizona, he became project chief for lunar field geological methods, and mastered photographic and telescopic mapping techniques of the Moon. He became an instructor to the NASA astronauts during their training in lunar geology, and participated in the analysis of the lunar samples which were returned by the Apollo missions. In 1976, Dr. Schmitt was elected to serve his home state of New Mexico in the U.S. Senate, serving a six year term. More recently, he has been appointed as an Adjunct Professor of Engineering at the University of Wisconsin, and Chairman and President of the Annapolis Center for Environmental Quality.