Harrison Hagan Schmitt

Schmitt, Harrison Hagan (1935– ), geologist, astronaut, politician. Schmitt joined the National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) as an astronaut in 1964. In Dec. 1972 he flew on the Apollo 17 lunar-landing mission, becoming the first U.S. scientist to fly in space and, with Eugene A. Cernan, spent 3 days on the surface of the moon. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1976 as a Republican from New Mexico, and became a staunch backer of President Ronald Reagan; however, he lost the 1982 election. In 1989 President George Bush named him to serve on an 8-member commission on government ethics.

See also: Astronaut.