Editing Apollo 17 (section)

=== Scheduling and landing site selection ===
Prior to the cancellation of Apollo 18 through 20, Apollo 17 was slated to launch in September 1971 as part of NASA's tentative launch schedule set forth in 1969.<ref name=astronautix/> The in-flight abort of [[Apollo 13]] and the resulting modifications to the Apollo spacecraft delayed subsequent missions.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Uri |first1=John |editor-last=Mars |editor-first=Kelli |title=50 Years Ago: Apollo 14 and 15 Preparations |url=https://www.nasa.gov/feature/50-years-ago-apollo-14-and-15-preparations-0 |publisher=NASA |date=July 31, 2020 |access-date=January 8, 2022 |archive-date=January 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220108134102/https://www.nasa.gov/feature/50-years-ago-apollo-14-and-15-preparations-0/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Following the cancellation of Apollo 20 in early 1970, NASA decided there would be no more than two Apollo missions per year.<ref>{{cite news | title = Apollo's schedule shifted by NASA; next flight in April | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1970/01/09/archives/apollos-schedule-shifted-by-nasa-next-flight-in-april.html | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date = January 9, 1970 | page = 17 | access-date = October 30, 2020 | archive-date = December 21, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201221010131/https://www.nytimes.com/1970/01/09/archives/apollos-schedule-shifted-by-nasa-next-flight-in-april.html | url-status = live }}</ref> Part of the reason Apollo 17 was scheduled for December 1972 was to make it fall after [[1972 United States presidential election|the presidential election]] in November, ensuring that if there was a disaster, it would have no effect on President [[Richard Nixon]]'s re-election campaign.{{sfn|Shayler & Burgess 2017|p=207}} Nixon had been deeply concerned about the Apollo 13 astronauts, and, fearing another mission in crisis as he ran for re-election, initially decided to omit the funds for Apollo 17 from the budget; he was persuaded to accept a December 1972 date for the mission.{{sfn|Logsdon 2015|pp=154–159}}

Like Apollo 15 and 16, Apollo 17 was slated to be a "[[List of Apollo missions#Alphabetical mission types|J-mission]]", an Apollo mission type that featured lunar surface stays of three days, higher scientific capability, and the usage of the Lunar Roving Vehicle. Since Apollo 17 was to be the final lunar landing of the Apollo program, high-priority landing sites that had not been visited previously were given consideration for potential exploration. Some sites were rejected at earlier stages. For instance, a landing in the crater [[Copernicus (lunar crater)|Copernicus]] was rejected because [[Apollo 12]] had already obtained samples from that impact, and three other Apollo expeditions had already visited the vicinity of [[Mare Imbrium]], near the rim of which Copernicus is located. The lunar highlands near the crater [[Tycho (lunar crater)|Tycho]] were rejected because of the rough terrain that the astronauts would encounter there. A site on the [[Far side of the Moon|lunar far side]] in the crater [[Tsiolkovskiy (crater)|Tsiolkovskiy]] was rejected due to technical considerations and the operational costs of maintaining communication with Earth during surface operations. Lastly, a landing in a region southwest of [[Mare Crisium]] was rejected on the grounds that a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] spacecraft could easily access the site and retrieve samples; [[Luna 20]] ultimately did so shortly after the Apollo 17 site selection was made.<ref name=lpi>{{cite web|title=Landing Site Overview|url=http://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/missions/apollo/apollo_17/landing_site/|work=Apollo 17 Mission|publisher=[[Lunar and Planetary Institute]]|access-date=February 7, 2022|archive-date=August 28, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110828062339/http://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/missions/apollo/apollo_17/landing_site/|url-status=live}}</ref> Schmitt advocated for a landing on the far side of the Moon until told by Director of Flight Operations [[Christopher C. Kraft]] that it would not happen as NASA lacked the funds for the necessary communications satellites.{{sfn|Wilhelms 1993|p=312}}

[[File:Apollo 17 Landing Site.jpg|thumb|left|Landing site and surrounding area, as imaged from the Apollo 17 command module, 1972|alt=Black and white photo of a created surface of the Moon showing the landing site and surrounding area for Apollo 17 as taken from Apollo 17.]]
The three sites that made the final consideration for Apollo 17 were [[Alphonsus (crater)|Alphonsus crater]], [[Gassendi (crater)|Gassendi crater]], and the [[Taurus–Littrow]] valley. In making the final landing site decision, mission planners considered the primary objectives for Apollo 17: obtaining old highlands material a substantial distance from Mare Imbrium, sampling material from young volcanic activity (i.e., less than three billion years), and having minimal ground overlap with the orbital ground tracks of Apollo 15 and Apollo 16 to maximize the amount of new data obtained.<ref name=lpi/> A significant reason for the selection of Taurus–Littrow was that Apollo 15's CMP, Al Worden, had overflown the site and observed features he described as likely volcanic in nature.{{sfn|Wilhelms 1993|p=313}}

Gassendi was eliminated because NASA felt that its [[central-peak basin|central peak]] would be difficult to reach due to the roughness of the local terrain, and, though Alphonsus might be easier operationally than Taurus–Littrow, it was of lesser scientific interest.{{sfn|Wilhelms 1993|p=314}} At Taurus–Littrow, it was believed that the crew would be able to obtain samples of old highland material from the remnants of a landslide event that occurred on the south wall of the valley and the possibility of relatively young, explosive volcanic activity in the area. Although the valley is similar to the [[Hadley–Apennine (Moon)|landing site of Apollo 15]] in that it is on the border of a [[lunar mare]], the advantages of Taurus–Littrow were believed to outweigh the drawbacks.<ref name=lpi/> The Apollo Site Selection Board, a committee of NASA personnel and scientists charged with setting out scientific objectives of the Apollo landing missions and selecting landing sites for them,<ref>{{cite web|title=Apollo Site Selection Board Meeting Minutes – February 11, 1972|url=https://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/documents/apollo-site-selection/Feb-11-1972.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/documents/apollo-site-selection/Feb-11-1972.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|publisher=NASA|access-date=February 3, 2022}}</ref> unanimously recommended Taurus–Littrow at its final meeting in February 1972. Upon that recommendation, NASA selected Taurus–Littrow as the landing site for Apollo 17.{{sfn|Wilhelms 1993|p=314}}