Jump to Navigation

Ronald E. Evans

Portrait of Apollo astronaut Ron Evans, 1970s

Apollo Astronaut. Born: November 10, 1933, St. Francis, Kansas.  Died: April 7,1990, Scottsdale, Arizona. Married with two children.

A graduate of Highland Park High School in Topeka, Ron Evans was among the crew of Apollo 17, the last moon landing flight in the Apollo program. He piloted the command module that orbited the moon while the other crew members landed on its surface, in December 1972. Evans had received a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Kansas in 1956, and a master's degree in aeronautical engineering from the U. S. Naval Postgraduate School in 1964.

He was one of the original 19 men selected for the  NASA space program. As the pilot of the command module, America, Evans and his fellow astronauts, Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt, conducted the last scheduled manned flight to the moon. Prior to the return trip, Evans completed an extravehicular activity to retrieve camera cassettes and inspect a portion of the command module.

Prior to the lunar project, Evans had been a pilot for the United States Navy during the Vietnam War. He was the Native Sons and Daughters of Kansas' Distinguished Kansan of the Year in 1971. The following year received the University of Kansas Distinguished Service Citation. Captain Evans retired from the Navy in 1976 after 21 years of service. He retired from NASA in 1977 and became a coal industry executive.

Entry: Evans, Ronald E.

Author: Kansas Historical Society

Author information: The Kansas Historical Society is a state agency charged with actively safeguarding and sharing the state's history.

Date Created: January 2011

Date Modified: August 2013

The author of this article is solely responsible for its content.