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In his final moments outside the moonship, Cernan held up what he called "a very significant rock, composed of many fragments of all sizes and shapes and colors." Speaking directly to youngsters of 78 nations who had been invited to Houston for the final moon shot, Cernan said that the rock would be divided among their countries "as a symbol that we can live in peace and harmony in the future." Then, after moving back to Challenger, Cernan unveiled a plaque on the ship's descent stage, which would remain behind on the moon. Evoking the words of a similar plaque left behind by the Apollo 11 astronauts, it read: "May the spirit of peace in which we came be reflected in the lives of all mankind." It carried the engraved signatures of all three astronauts as well as that of President Nixon. But before boarding the moonship for the last time, the astronauts could not resist one more bit of horseplay as Schmitt heaved a geological hammer "a million miles" in the slight lunar gravity.
Too Gentle. Little more than seven minutes after its spectacular ascent from the lunar surface, Challenger was in lunar orbit, ready for its rendezvous with America. "God, you look pretty," Cernan radioed as Challenger approached the mother ship. Evans maneuvered America so gingerly in the final phases that the first docking contact was too gentle; the latches of the docking mechanism failed to catch. The two ships came together harder on the second try and were firmly joined. Taking their rocks, films and other paraphernalia with them, Cernan and Schmitt climbed through the connecting tunnel and rejoined Evans; the moonwalkers had so much dust on them that Evans told them jokingly that he would make them sleep in the passageway. Its job done, Challenger was sent crashing into the moon, bringing the total cost of equipment left on the moon during the Apollo program—including the still operative scientific observatories—to $517 million. The craft landed only nine miles from the valley it had just left. Two days later, on America's 76th revolution of the moon, the astronauts fired the spacecraft engine to blast themselves out of lunar orbit and start them on their voyage home.
* Named in tribute to the man who began the moon program: President John F. Kennedy, who had a special fondness for the musical Camelot.