The Explorers' Club, № MCXCII

Destination Moon—Astronaut Group 5 (the "Original Nineteen"), Part X
Ronald Ellwin Evans Junior (10 November 1933-6 April 1990), Captain, U.S. Navy—He flew as Command Module Pilot on Apollo 17 (America & Challenger, 1972); he spent the most time orbiting the Moon (147:43:11, more than 6 days) & conducted the third & final deep-space E.V.A.; he smoked one last cigarette prior to launch while wearing his A7LB spacesuit, before his helmet was secured.

Commentary: Evans's Apollo 17 crewmates Gene Cernan & Jack Schmitt nicknamed him "Captain America." Evans served as back C.M.P. for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, which included learning the Russian language.

Bonus! Moonshot Song o' the Day: The Original Nineteen—Ron Evans
Less Than Jake, "One Last Cigarette" from Pezcore (Space Cadet Mike Papa DSKY)

Commentary: Cernan & Schmitt's hopes for Evans to quite cigarettes "cold turkey" during the fortnight of Apollo 17 were dashed, for as soon as the trio came aboard the recovery ship, U.S.S. Ticonderoga, Evans asked for a cigarette.

The Wayback Machine Tour of Ron Evans
"The Explorers' Club," № CMXXI: The 50th Anniversary of Apollo 17, Part I
"The Explorers' Club," № CMXXII: The 50th Anniversary of Apollo 17, Part II
"The Explorers' Club," № CMXXIII: The 50th Anniversary of Apollo 17, Part III

The Wayback Machine Tour of the Moonflyers
"The Explorers' Club," № CMXLVIII: Frank Borman (Apollo 8)
"The Explorers' Club," № CMXLIX: Jim Lovell (Apollo 8 & Apollo 13)
"The Explorers' Club," № MXLVII: Bill Anders (Apollo 8)
"The Explorers' Club," № CMLXXI: Tom Stafford (Apollo 10)
"The Explorers' Club," № MXXV: Mike Collins (Apollo 11)
"The Explorers' Club," № MXXVII: Dick Gordon (Apollo 12)
"The Explorers' Club," № MCLIX: Jack Swigert (Apollo 13)
"The Explorers' Club," № MCLXI: Fred Haise (Apollo 13)
"The Explorers' Club," № MCLXIII: Stu Roosa (Apollo 14)
"The Explorers' Club," № MCLXX: Al Worden (Apollo 15)
"The Explorers' Club," № MCLXXXIII: Ken Mattingly (Apollo 16)

Commentary: For fifty-three years (December 1972-April 2026), these twelve men & the twelve Moonwalkers (Wayback Machine) were the only humans to have flown beyond low Earth orbit. Artemis II added four more names to that list; the twenty-four are now twenty-eight, with the promise of many more to come.

Requiescat in pace.