Editing Harrison Schmitt

{{Short description|American politician, astronaut and lunar explorer (born 1935)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name                = Harrison Schmitt
|image               = Harrison Schmitt.jpg
|caption             = Schmitt in 1971
|jr/sr               = United States Senator
|state               = [[New Mexico]]
|term_start          = January 3, 1977
|term_end            = January 3, 1983
|predecessor         = [[Joseph Montoya]]
|successor           = [[Jeff Bingaman]]
|birth_name          = Harrison Hagan Schmitt
|birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1935|7|3}}
|birth_place         = [[Santa Rita, New Mexico]], U.S.
|death_date          =
|death_place         =
|party               = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
|spouse              = Teresa Fitzgibbon
|education           = {{ubl|[[California Institute of Technology]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])|[[University of Oslo]]|[[Harvard University]] ([[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]])}}
|awards              = [[NASA Distinguished Service Medal]]<br>[[G. K. Gilbert Award]] {{small|(1989)}}
|module     = {{Infobox astronaut
|child      = yes
|type       = [[NASA astronaut]]
|time       = 12d 13h 52m
|selection  = [[NASA Astronaut Group 4|NASA Group 4 (1965)]]
|eva1       = 3 on the lunar surface<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/missions/apollo17.html |title=Apollo 17 |date=March 16, 2015 |publisher=[[NASA]] |accessdate=June 29, 2016}}</ref>
|eva2       = 22h 3m<ref name="EVA">{{cite web |url=https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4029/Apollo_18-30_Extravehicular_Activity.htm |title=Extravehicular Activity |publisher=[[NASA]] |accessdate=June 29, 2016}}</ref>
|mission    = [[Apollo 17]]
|insignia   = [[File:Apollo 17-insignia.png|55px|Apollo 17 insignia]]
|retirement = August 30, 1975
|module       = {{Infobox scientist
|embed        = yes
|fields       = [[Geology]]
|workplaces   = {{ubl|[[U.S. Geological Survey]]|[[University of Wisconsin, Madison]]}}
|thesis_title = Petrology and Structure of the Eiksundsdal Eclogite Complex, Hareidland, Sunnmøre, Norway
|thesis_url   = https://www.proquest.com/docview/302174689/
|thesis_year  = 1964}}}}
}}
'''Harrison Hagan''' "'''Jack'''" '''Schmitt''' (born July 3, 1935) is an American [[geologist]], former [[NASA astronaut]], [[university professor]], former [[U.S. senator]] from [[New Mexico]], and the most recent living person—and only person without a background in military aviation—to have walked on the [[Moon]].<ref name="Bio">{{cite web |url=https://www.nasa.gov/former-astronaut-harrison-schmitt/ |title=Biography |publisher=[[NASA]] |accessdate=March 19, 2024}}</ref>

In December 1972, as one of the crew on board [[Apollo 17]], Schmitt became the first member of [[NASA Astronaut Group 4|NASA's first scientist-astronaut group]] to fly in space. As Apollo 17 was the last of the [[Apollo program|Apollo]] missions, he also became the [[List of Apollo astronauts#People who have walked on the Moon|twelfth and second-youngest person to set foot on the Moon]] and the second-to-last person to step off of the Moon (he boarded the [[Apollo Lunar Module|Lunar Module]] shortly before commander [[Eugene Cernan]]). Schmitt also remains the only professional scientist<!--was geologist--> to have flown beyond [[low Earth orbit]] and to have visited the Moon.<ref>{{cite news |title=Naked Science: Living on the Moon |newspaper=National Geographic Television |date=August 15, 2010}}</ref> He was influential within the community of geologists supporting the Apollo program and, before starting his own preparations for an Apollo mission, had been one of the scientists training those Apollo astronauts chosen to visit the lunar surface.

Schmitt resigned from NASA in August 1975 to run for election to the [[United States Senate]] as a member from New Mexico. As the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] candidate in [[1976 United States Senate election in New Mexico|the 1976 election]], he defeated [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] incumbent [[Joseph Montoya]]. In [[1982 United States Senate election in New Mexico|the 1982 election]], Schmitt was defeated by Democrat [[Jeff Bingaman]].

== Biography ==

=== Early life and education ===
Born July 3, 1935,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28982197/alamogordo_daily_news/|title=Schmitt One Of Those Who Has Been There|newspaper=Alamogordo Daily News|location=Alamogordo, New Mexico|date=October 16, 1977|page=10|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> in [[Santa Rita, New Mexico]], Schmitt grew up in nearby [[Silver City, New Mexico|Silver City]],<ref name="CIT">{{cite web
 |title        = 50 Years in Space - Harrison Schmitt
 |url          = http://www.galcit.caltech.edu/space50/program/speakers/SchmittH.html
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20081022214516/http://www.galcit.caltech.edu/space50/program/speakers/SchmittH.html
 |publisher    = California Institute of Technology
 |archive-date = October 22, 2008
|access-date  = June 16, 2009
|url-status   = dead
}}</ref> and is a graduate of the [[Western High School (New Mexico)|Western High School]] (Class of 1953). He received a [[Bachelor of Science]] degree in [[geology]] from the [[California Institute of Technology]] in 1957<ref name="caltech alumni">{{cite web |title=Distinguished Alumni Awards |url=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/51d72b41e4b0f798b53a3cae/t/5a130ea6652deadc1214c9c2/1511198374960/DAA+Recipient+List+Alpha+2017.pdf |publisher=California Institute of Technology |access-date=April 24, 2019 |archive-date=February 13, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190213123948/https://static1.squarespace.com/static/51d72b41e4b0f798b53a3cae/t/5a130ea6652deadc1214c9c2/1511198374960/DAA+Recipient+List+Alpha+2017.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> and then spent a year studying geology at the [[University of Oslo]] in Norway, as a Fulbright Scholar.<ref name="CIT" /><ref>{{cite news
 |title        = Learned to walk on the moon in Oslo
 |url          = http://universitas.no/news/53501/learned-to-walk-on-the-moon-in-oslo/
 |work         = Universitas
 |date         = May 27, 2009
|access-date  = June 15, 2009
|archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20090902130904/http://universitas.no/news/53501/learned-to-walk-on-the-moon-in-oslo/
 |archive-date = September 2, 2009
|url-status   = dead
}}</ref> He received a [[Doctor of Philosophy]] in geology from [[Harvard University]] in 1964, based on his geological field studies in Norway.<ref name="CIT" /><ref name="thesis-schmitt-1964">{{cite thesis |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/302174689/ |title=Petrology and structure of the Eiksundsdal Eclogite Complex, Hareidland, Sunnmøre, Norway |date=1964 |publisher=[[Harvard University]] |type=Ph.D. |last=Schmitt |first=Harrison Hagan |id={{ProQuest|302174689}} |url-access=subscription|oclc=76977172}}</ref>

=== NASA career ===
Before joining [[NASA]] as a member of the [[Astronaut Group 4|first group of scientist-astronauts]] in June 1965,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28241336/lebanon_daily_news/|title=Six Young Scientists Become US Astronauts Today at Space Center|agency=UPI|newspaper=Lebanon Daily News|location=Lebanon, Pennsylvania|date=June 29, 1965|page=17|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> he worked at the U.S. Geological Survey's Astrogeology Center at [[Flagstaff, Arizona]],<ref name=vermontscientist>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28637697/the_burlington_free_press/|title=Vermont Scientist May Be On Early Mission to the Moon|newspaper=The Burlington Free Press|location=Burlington, Vermont|date=June 28, 1965|page=1|via=Newspapers.com|agency=Associated Press}}</ref> developing geological field techniques that would be used by the Apollo crews. Following his selection, Schmitt spent his first year at [[U.S. Air Force|Air Force]] [[Undergraduate Pilot Training|UPT]] learning to become a jet pilot. Upon his return to the astronaut corps in Houston, he played a key role in training Apollo crews to be [[geologic]] observers when they were in lunar orbit and competent geologic field workers when they were on the lunar surface. After each of the landing missions, he participated in the examination and evaluation of the returned lunar samples and helped the crews with the scientific aspects of their mission reports.<ref>{{Cite web |title=James May Speaks to Harrison Schmitt |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/james-may-speaks-to-harrison-schmitt/zvy4scw |access-date=2024-06-07 |website=BBC Archive |language=en}}</ref>

Schmitt spent considerable time becoming proficient in the [[Apollo Command/Service Module|CSM]] and [[Apollo Lunar Module|LM]] systems. In March 1970 he became the first of the scientist-astronauts to be assigned to space flight, joining [[Richard F. Gordon Jr.]] (Commander) and [[Vance Brand]] (Command Module Pilot) on the [[Apollo 15]] backup crew. The flight rotation put these three in line to fly as prime crew on the third following mission, Apollo 18. When [[Canceled Apollo missions|Apollo 18 and Apollo 19 were canceled]] in September 1970, the community of lunar [[geologist]]s supporting Apollo felt so strongly about the need to land a professional geologist on the Moon, that they pressured [[NASA]] to reassign Schmitt to a remaining flight. As a result, Schmitt was assigned in August 1971 to fly on [[Apollo 17]], replacing [[Joe Engle]] as Lunar Module Pilot. Schmitt landed on the Moon with commander [[Gene Cernan]] in December 1972.<ref name=a17pre>{{cite web|title=A Running Start – Apollo 17 up to Powered Descent Initiation|url=http://next.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/a17.prepdi.html|publisher=Apollo Lunar Surface Journal|access-date=August 25, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320233958/http://next.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/a17.prepdi.html|archive-date=March 20, 2012}}</ref>

Schmitt claims to have taken the photograph of the [[Earth]] known as ''[[The Blue Marble]]'', one of the [[List of photographs considered the most important|most widely distributed]] photographic images in existence. His Apollo 17 crewmates, [[Gene Cernan]] (Mission Commander) and [[Ronald Evans (astronaut)|Ronald Evans]] (Command Module Pilot), have made the same claim, and NASA's official position is to credit all three together.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/04/the-blue-marble-shot-our-first-complete-photograph-of-earth/237167/|title=The Blue Marble Shot: Our First Complete Photograph of Earth|last1=Reinert|first1=Al|date=2011-04-12 |magazine=The Atlantic}}</ref>

{{Quote box|width=20em|align=right|quote="Perhaps the hardest thing to get used to on the Moon is that the sky is completely black. There's no blue at all."|source=Harrison Schmitt (2022-09-12)<ref>{{Citation |title=Harrison Schmitt - Hyde Park Civilizace {{!}} Česká televize |url=https://www.ceskatelevize.cz/porady/10441294653-hyde-park-civilizace/222411058090910/ |date=2022-09-12 |access-date=2023-08-10 |language=cs}}</ref>}}

While on the Moon's surface, Schmitt—the only geologist in the astronaut corps—collected the rock sample designated [[Troctolite 76535]], which has been called "without doubt the most interesting sample returned from the Moon".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www-curator.jsc.nasa.gov/lunar/compendium.cfm|title=Lunar Sample Compendium|author=Nancy S. Todd}}</ref> Among other distinctions, it is the central piece of evidence suggesting that the Moon once possessed an active magnetic field.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/20/science/space/20moon.html|title=Rock Suggests Early Moon's Fiery Core Churned a Magnetic Field|date=January 20, 2009|work=The New York Times}}</ref>

As he returned to the Lunar Module before Cernan, Schmitt is the next-to-last person to have walked on the Moon's surface. Since the death of Cernan in 2017, Schmitt is the most recent person to have walked on the Moon who is still alive. After the completion of the Apollo 17 mission, Schmitt played an active role in documenting the Apollo geologic results and also took on the task of organizing NASA's Energy Program Office.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://history.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/a17.crew.html|title=Apollo 17 Crew Information|publisher=NASA|access-date=May 23, 2023}}</ref>

On April 29, 2018, the Schmitt Space Communicator SC-1x named in his honor was carried aboard the [[Blue Origin]] [[New Shepard]] crew capsule<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gibbs |first=Yvonne |date=May 1, 2018 |title=Wi-Fi in Space, Spacecraft Technologies Launched on Blue Origin Rocket |url=http://www.nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/feature/wifi_space_spacecraft_technologies_Blue_Origin_Rocket |access-date=2023-01-13 |website=NASA}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mishra |first=Gourav |date=February 5, 2018 |title=Here's everything you need to know about Solstar's communicator which will connect space to Earth |url=https://www.ibtimes.co.in/heres-everything-you-need-know-about-solstars-communicator-which-will-connect-space-earth-759487 |access-date=2023-01-13 |website=www.ibtimes.co.in |language=en}}</ref> in a project partly funded by NASA.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ditzler |first=Joseph |title=Space Wi-Fi startup aims to raise $1M via crowdfunding investment site |url=https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/business/space-wi-fi-startup-aims-to-raise-1m-via-crowdfunding-investment-site/article_ad343c52-9bb8-5f89-8790-a27fdf39421e.html |access-date=2023-01-13 |website=Santa Fe New Mexican |date=July 2, 2018 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=April 29, 2018 |title=New Mexico firm hopes to offer Wi-Fi for space travelers |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/business/new-mexico-firm-hopes-to-offer-wi-fi-for-space-travelers/ |access-date=2023-01-13 |website=The Seattle Times |language=en-US}}</ref> It launched the first commercial two-way data and [[Wi-Fi hotspot]] service in space and sent the first commercial [[Twitter]] message from space.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How Humans Will Bring the Internet to Space |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/how-humans-will-bring-the-internet-to-space/ |access-date=2023-01-13 |website=Vice.com |date=July 3, 2019 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Apogee 351,000 Feet |url=https://www.blueorigin.com/news/apogee-351-000-feet |access-date=2023-01-13 |website=Blue Origin |language=en-US}}</ref> The {{convert|3|lb|spell=in|adj=on}} device was developed by [[Solstar]], which Schmitt had joined as an advisor, and launched {{convert|66|mi}} above the Earth's surface, just past the [[Kármán line|edge of space]], as a technology demonstration. The device was admitted to the [[Smithsonian Institution|Smithsonian]] [[National Air and Space Museum]].<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=November 16, 2019 |title=MSUA Member Interview. Brian Barnett, Founder & CEO, Solstar Space |url=https://www.msua.org/single-post/2019/11/15/msua-member-interview-brian-barnett-founder-ceo-solstar-space |access-date=2023-01-13 |website=msua |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=That Space Podcast: Solstar Space Co. CEO Brian Barnett |url=https://thatspacepodcast.libsyn.com/wifi-in-space-with-brian-barnett |access-date=2023-01-13 |website=thatspacepodcast.libsyn.com |language=en}}</ref>

<gallery>
File:Astronaut Harrison 'Jack' Schmitt, American Flag, and Earth (Apollo 17 EVA-1).jpg|Schmitt poses by the [[Lunar Flag Assembly|American flag]], with [[Earth]] in the background, during [[Apollo 17]]'s first [[extra-vehicular activity|EVA]].
File:Schmitt Covered with Lunar Dirt - GPN-2000-001124.jpg|Schmitt collects lunar specimens during the Apollo 17 mission.
File:Ap17 schmitt falls.ogv|Schmitt falls while on a Moonwalk.
File:Ap17 strolling.ogv|Astronauts Harrison Schmitt and [[Eugene Cernan]] singing "[[The Fountain in the Park|While Strolling Through the Park One Day]]" on the Moon during the Apollo 17 mission
File:The Earth seen from Apollo 17.jpg|''[[The Blue Marble]]'', an iconic photograph of Earth, is credited to the three crewmen of Apollo 17
</gallery>

=== Senate career ===
[[File:Ronald Reagan and Apollo Astronaut Harrison Schmitt 1.jpg|thumb|Senator Schmitt with President [[Ronald Reagan]] in [[Roswell, New Mexico]], October 1982]]
[[File:Jack Schmidt at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (June 3 2009).jpg|thumb|upright|Schmitt in 2009]]
On August 30, 1975, Schmitt retired from NASA to seek election as a [[United States Republican Party|Republican]] to the [[United States Senate]] representing [[New Mexico]] in the [[1976 United States Senate election in New Mexico|1976 election]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20691153/silver_city_daily_press/|title=Schmitt Announces He's Seeking U.S. Senate|newspaper=Silver City Daily Press|location=Silver City, New Mexico|page=1|date=September 10, 1975|last1=Graves|first1=Howard|agency=Associated Press|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20570089/florida_today/|title=Astronaut Corps Getting Thinner and Thinner|newspaper=Florida Today|location=Cocoa, Florida|page=11A|date=September 18, 1975|last1=Chriss|first1=Nicholas}}</ref> The astronaut-politician campaigned for fourteen months, and his campaign focused on the future.<ref name="AP_TenureEnded" /> In the Republican primary, held on June 1, 1976, Schmitt defeated the unknown Eugene Peirce.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20662143/las_cruces_sunnews/|title=Montoya, Schmitt, Peirce on Ballots|newspaper=Las Cruces Sun-News|page=1|date=March 28, 1976|agency=UPI|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> In the election, Schmitt opposed two-term Democratic incumbent [[Joseph Montoya]].<ref name="AP_TenureEnded">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20662191/las_vegas_optic/|title=Montoya's Tenure Ended by Schmitt|last1=Feather|first1=Bill|agency=Associated Press|page=1|date=November 3, 1976|via=Newspapers.com|newspaper=Las Vegas Optic|location=Las Vegas, New Mexico}}</ref> He defeated Montoya 57% to 43%.<ref name=clovis>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20662009/clovis_newsjournal/|title=Schmitt Landslide Ends Montoya Senate Reign|newspaper=Clovis News-Journal|location=Clovis, New Mexico|date=November 3, 1976|page=1|agency=Associated Press|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

He served one term and, notably, was the chairman of the Science, Technology, and Space Subcommittee of the [[United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation|United States Senate Committee on Commerce]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31028832/albuquerque_journal/|title=APS Defends Science, Math Curriculum|newspaper=Albuquerque Journal|location=Albuquerque, New Mexico|date=February 13, 1981|page=1|via=Newspapers.com|last1=Sandoval|first1=Arturo}}</ref> He sought a second term in [[1982 United States Senate election in New Mexico|1982]], facing state Attorney General [[Jeff Bingaman]]. Bingaman criticized Schmitt for not paying enough attention to local matters; his campaign slogan asked, "What on Earth has he done for you lately?"<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1910599_1910769_1910767-3,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090719082143/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1910599_1910769_1910767-3,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 19, 2009|title=The Astronauts Who Went to the Moon - The 40th Anniversary of the Moon Landing |date=July 16, 2009|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|access-date=June 5, 2018}}</ref> This, combined with the deep recession, proved too much for Schmitt to overcome; he was defeated, 54% to 46%.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31028795/the_orlando_sentinel/|title=Winners, losers in governor, Senate, House races|newspaper=The Orlando Sentinel|location=Orlando, Florida|date=November 4, 1982|page=137|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

=== Post-Senate career ===

Following his Senate term, Schmitt has been a consultant in business, geology, space, and public policy. Schmitt is an adjunct professor of engineering physics at the [[University of Wisconsin–Madison]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.engr.wisc.edu/ep/faculty/schmitt_harrison.html|title=Harrison J. Schmitt|website=engr.wisc.edu|publisher=University of Wisconsin—|access-date=November 20, 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070202223728/http://www.engr.wisc.edu/ep/faculty/schmitt_harrison.html|archive-date=February 2, 2007}}</ref> and has long been a proponent of lunar resource utilization.<ref>{{cite journal|bibcode=1988lhfp.rept...35K|title=The moon: an abundant source of clean and safe fusion fuel for the 21st century|date=September 1, 1988|last1=Kulcinski|first1=G. L.|last2=Schmitt|first2=Harrison H.|pages=35–64|journal=Lunar Helium-3 and Fusion Power}}</ref><ref>''Return to the Moon: exploration, enterprise, and energy in the human settlement of space'', Springer, 2006 {{ISBN|0-387-24285-6}}</ref> In 1997 he proposed the Interlune InterMars Initiative, listing among its goals the advancement of private-sector acquisition and use of lunar resources, particularly lunar [[helium-3]] as a fuel for notional [[nuclear fusion]] reactors.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1061/(ASCE)0893-1321(1997)10:2(60) |title=Interlune-Intermars Business Initiative: Returning to Deep Space |year=1997 |last1=Schmitt |first1=Harrison H. |journal=Journal of Aerospace Engineering |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=60–67|s2cid=108656783 }}</ref>

[[File:Presidential Space Directive - 1 Signing (NHQ201712110001).jpg|left|thumb|Schmitt (second from right) attends President [[Donald Trump]]'s signing of Space Policy Directive-1, directing NASA to resume human flight to the Moon and beyond]]

Schmitt was chair of the [[NASA Advisory Council]], whose mandate is to provide technical advice to the NASA Administrator, from November 2005 until his abrupt resignation on October 16, 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2008/oct/HQ_08-261_Scmitt_Leaves_NAC.html|title=NASA – Schmitt Completes NASA Advisory Council Service; Ford Named Chairman|date=October 2008|website=nasa.gov|publisher=NASA|access-date=December 7, 2009|archive-date=June 9, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160609184155/http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2008/oct/HQ_08-261_Scmitt_Leaves_NAC.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> In November 2008, he quit the Planetary Society over policy advocacy differences, citing the organization's statements on "focusing on Mars as the driving goal of human spaceflight" (Schmitt said that going back to the Moon would speed progress toward a crewed Mars mission), on "accelerating research into global climate change through more comprehensive Earth observations" (Schmitt voiced objections to the notion of a present "scientific consensus" on climate change as any policy guide), and on international cooperation (which he felt would retard rather than accelerate progress), among other points of divergence.<ref name="PlanetarySociety">{{cite web |url=http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=29813 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120910164725/http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=29813 |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 10, 2012 |title=Former NASA Advisory Council Chair Jack Schmitt Quits Planetary Society Over New Roadmap |website=SpaceRef.com |date=November 17, 2008 |access-date=August 4, 2018 }}</ref>

Schmitt also serves as a visiting senior research scientist at the [[Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ihmc.us/groups/hschmitt/|title=Harrison 'Jack' Schmitt}}</ref>

In January 2011, he was appointed as secretary of the [[New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department]] in the cabinet of Governor [[Susana Martinez]], but was forced to give up the appointment the following month after refusing to submit to a required background investigation.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.elpasotimes.com/newupdated/ci_17353325 | title=Harrison Schmitt withdraws nomination for New Mexico energy secretary | work=El Paso Times | date=February 11, 2011 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://archive.today/20120906025728/http://www.elpasotimes.com/newupdated/ci_17353325 | archive-date=September 6, 2012 }}</ref> ''El Paso Times'' called him the "most celebrated" candidate for New Mexico energy secretary.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Simonich|first1=Milan|title=Harrison Schmitt withdraws nomination for New Mexico energy secretary|url=http://www.elpasotimes.com/newupdated/ci_17353325|access-date=October 6, 2014|newspaper=El Paso Times|date=February 11, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120906025728/http://www.elpasotimes.com/newupdated/ci_17353325|archive-date=September 6, 2012}}</ref>

Schmitt wrote a book entitled ''Return to the Moon: Exploration, Enterprise, and Energy in the Human Settlement of Space'' in 2006.<ref>{{cite book |last=Schmitt |first=Harrison H. |title=Return to the Moon: Exploration, Enterprise, and Energy in the Human Settlement of Space |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IerrQGC6S2YC|access-date=March 23, 2013 |year=2005 |publisher=Springer London, Limited |isbn=978-0-387-31064-0}}</ref> Schmitt is also involved in several civic projects, including the improvement of the Senator Harrison H. Schmitt Big Sky Hang Glider Park in [[Albuquerque, New Mexico]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bernco.gov/Parks/|title=Parks|access-date=May 3, 2013|archive-date=May 15, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515201301/http://www.bernco.gov/Parks/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Views on climate change ==
{{Further|Scientific consensus on climate change|Global warming controversy}}

Schmitt has [[Climate change denial|rejected]] the [[scientific consensus on climate change]], which states that climate change is real, progressing, dangerous, and primarily human-caused. He has claimed that climate change is predominantly caused by natural factors, as opposed to human activity. Schmitt has argued that the risks posed by climate change are overstated and has instead supported the notion<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Diethelm |first1=P. |last2=McKee |first2=M. |date=October 16, 2008 |title=Denialism: what is it and how should scientists respond? |journal=The European Journal of Public Health |volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=2–4 |doi=10.1093/eurpub/ckn139 |pmid=19158101 |issn=1101-1262|doi-access=free }}</ref> that climate change is a "tool" used to advocate for the expansion of the government.<ref name="PlanetarySociety" />

Schmitt resigned from the [[Planetary Society]] due to disagreements over their "Roadmap to Space Exploration", which recommended prioritizing earlier human missions to Mars over U.S. lunar expeditions. He believed lunar exploration was crucial for Mars missions, stating, "The fastest way to get to Mars is by way of the Moon."<ref name="spacenews-20081126">{{cite news|work=SpaceNews|date=November 26, 2008|url=https://spacenews.com/apollo-astronaut-quits-planetary-society-over-priority-dispute/|title=Apollo Astronaut Quits Planetary Society over Priority Dispute|access-date=September 8, 2023}}</ref> Additionally, Schmitt criticized the society's stance on global warming, writing in his resignation letter that the "'global warming scare' is being used as a political tool to increase government control over American lives, incomes and decision making," asserting it should not be part of the Society's activities.<ref name="PlanetarySociety" /> Schmitt spoke at the March 2009 [[International Conference on Climate Change]], an anthropogenic [[climate change denier]] event<ref>{{Cite web |title=Heartland climate-denier conference promises plenty of political science |url=https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/heartland-climate-denier-conference-promises-plenty-of-political-science |access-date=October 31, 2022 |website=The Nevada Independent |date=October 12, 2021 |language=en}}</ref> hosted by the conservative [[Heartland Institute]],<ref>[https://www.foxnews.com/story/ex-astronaut-global-warming-is-bunk "Ex-Astronaut: Global Warming Is Bunk"], Fox News, February 16, 2009</ref> where he said that climate change was a "[[stalking horse]] for [[Nazism|National Socialism]]."<ref name="klein2011">{{Cite news |last1=Klein |first1=Naomi |author-link1=Naomi Klein |date=November 9, 2011 |title=Capitalism vs. the Climate |newspaper=[[The Nation]] |url=http://www.thenation.com/article/164497/capitalism-vs-climate |access-date=August 23, 2012}}</ref> He appeared in December that year on the [[Fox Business Network]], saying that "[t]he [[carbon dioxide|CO<sub>2</sub>]] scare is a [[red herring]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/3889536/?playlist_id=87053|title=Is Global Warming Real?|work=Fox Business|access-date=September 9, 2010|archive-date=October 8, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008061404/http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/3889536/?playlist_id=87053|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In a 2009 interview with far-right conspiracy theorist and radio host [[Alex Jones]], Schmitt asserted a link between the collapse of the Soviet Union and the American environmental movement: "I think the whole trend really began with the fall of the Soviet Union. Because the great champion of the opponents of liberty, namely communism, had to find some other place to go and they basically went into the environmental movement."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://climateprogress.org/2011/01/27/denier-harrison-schmitt-holdren-communists/#more-41165|title=Moonstruck: Climate science denier Harrison Schmitt, appointed to head NM environment agency, believes enviros and scientists like Holdren are communists - ThinkProgress|work=ThinkProgress}}</ref>

In 2013, Schmitt co-authored an opinion column in ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' with [[William Happer]], contending that increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are not significantly correlated with global warming, attributing the "single-minded demonization of this natural and essential atmospheric gas" to advocates of government control of energy production. Noting a positive relationship between crop resistance to drought and increasing carbon dioxide levels, the authors argued, "Contrary to what some would have us believe, increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will benefit the increasing population on the planet by increasing agricultural productivity."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323528404578452483656067190|title=Harrison H. Schmitt and William Happer: In Defense of Carbon Dioxide|author=Harrison H. Schmitt And William Happer|date=May 8, 2013|work=WSJ}}</ref>

== In popular culture ==
* Schmitt was portrayed by [[Tom Amandes]] in the 1998 miniseries ''[[From the Earth to the Moon (miniseries)|From the Earth to the Moon]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120570/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast|title=From the Earth to the Moon: Full Cast and Crew|publisher=IMDb|access-date=March 17, 2018}}</ref>
* Schmitt appeared in a 1993 episode of ''[[Bill Nye the Science Guy]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/bill-nye-the-science-guy/episode-835689/200079/|title=Bill Nye the Science Guy|magazine=TV Guide|access-date=March 17, 2018}}</ref>
* Comedian [[Norm Macdonald]] mentioned Schmitt in his stand-up routine from at least 2015 until shortly before his death, joking about Schmitt's relative obscurity despite being one of only a few people to ever walk on the Moon.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_lsZzfY7Ec|title=Norm Macdonald Live in Kansas City (6/7/2015)|website=YouTube|date=November 5, 2021 |access-date=August 2, 2022}}</ref>

== Awards and honors ==
* [[NASA Distinguished Service Medal]] (1973)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/schmitt_harrison.pdf|title=Harrison Schmitt NASA Biography|publisher=NASA|access-date=May 18, 2021}}</ref>
* He was made an honorary fellow of the [[Geological Society of America]] for his efforts in [[geoscience]] in 1984.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.geosociety.org/aboutus/awards/past.htm |title=Geological Society of America: Award & Medal Recipients<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=August 29, 2019 |archive-date=December 15, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215224235/http://www.geosociety.org/aboutus/awards/past.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* 1989 Recipient of the [[G. K. Gilbert Award]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sservi.nasa.gov/articles/dyar-wins-2016-gsa-gilbert-award/|title=Dyar wins 2016 GSA Gilbert Award|publisher=NASA|access-date=March 17, 2018}}</ref>
* One of the elementary schools in Schmitt's hometown of Silver City, New Mexico was named in his honor in the mid-1970s. An image of the astronaut riding a rocket through space is displayed on the front of Harrison Schmitt Elementary School.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.harrisonschmittelementary.org/ | title = Harrison Schmitt Elementary – Home | access-date = March 28, 2014 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140702004713/http://www.harrisonschmittelementary.org/ | archive-date = July 2, 2014 }}</ref>
* [[American Association of Petroleum Geologists|AAPG]]'s Special Award has been changed to the Harrison Schmitt Award in 2011. It recognizes individuals or organizations that, for a variety of reasons, do not qualify for other Association honors or awards. Schmitt received the award in 1973 for his contribution as the first geologist to land on the Moon and study its geology.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aapg.org/business/honors_awards/special.cfm|title=Leadership}}</ref>
* 2015 Recipient of the [[Leif Erikson Awards|Leif Erikson Exploration Award]], awarded by [[The Exploration Museum]], for his scientific work on the surface of the Moon in 1972, and for his part in the geology training of all the astronauts that walked on the Moon before him.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://icelandmonitor.mbl.is/news/news/2015/11/23/the_leif_erikson_exploration_awards/ | title = The Leif Erikson Exploration Awards | access-date = November 30, 2015 }}</ref>

Schmitt was one of five inductees into the [[International Space Hall of Fame]] in 1977.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28241576/las_cruces_sunnews/|title=Space Hall Honors Pioneers|newspaper=Las Cruces Sun-News|location=Las Cruces, New Mexico|date=October 30, 1977|page=6|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> He was one of 24 Apollo astronauts who were inducted into the [[U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame]] in 1997.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28283877/florida_today/|title=Ceremony to Honor Astronauts|newspaper=Florida Today|location=Cocoa, Florida|page=2B|date=October 2, 1997|last1=Meyer|first1=Marilyn|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

== Media ==
Schmitt is one of the astronauts featured in the 2007 documentary ''[[In the Shadow of the Moon (2007 film)|In the Shadow of the Moon]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0925248/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast|title=In the Shadow of the Moon: Full Cast and Crew|publisher=IMDb|access-date=March 17, 2018}}</ref> He also contributed to the 2006 book ''NASA's Scientist-Astronauts'' by David Shayler and [[Colin Burgess (author)|Colin Burgess]].

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|Spaceflight}}
* [[The Astronaut Monument]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Harrison H. Schmitt}}
* [https://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip_15-610vq2tb4j Interview with Harrison Schmitt for NOVA series: To the Moon] WGBH Educational Foundation, raw footage, 1998
* Harrison Schmitt visits [http://iya2009malta.page.tl/Senator-Schmitt-invitation.htm?PHPSESSID=2388a3791ddf051b5c9b69379caf21a5 University of Malta] in 2009 and Handaq School
* [http://www.spacefacts.de/bios/astronauts/english/schmitt_harrison.htm Spacefacts biography of Harrison Schmitt]
* {{C-SPAN|52589}}
* [https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2017-27160 Space Policy Directive-1, in ''The Federal Register'']
* [https://www.ceskatelevize.cz/porady/10441294653-hyde-park-civilizace/222411058090910/ Harrison Schmitt in Hyde Park Civilization on ČT24 10.12.2022 (moderator Daniel Stach)]

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[[Category:Harrison Schmitt| ]]
[[Category:1935 births]]
[[Category:1972 in spaceflight]]
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[[Category:American geologists]]
[[Category:Apollo program astronauts]]
[[Category:Apollo 17]]
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