RONALD E. EVANS (CAPTAIN, USN RET.)

NASA ASTRONAUT (DECEASED)

PERSONAL DATA: Born November 10, 1933, in St. Francis, Kansas. Died April 

6, 1990, in Scottsdale, Arizona, of a heart attack. He is survived by his wife Jan and 

two children. 

EDUCATION: He graduated from Highland Park High School in Topeka, Kansas; 

received a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University 

of Kansas in 1956 and a Master of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from 

the U. S. Naval Postgraduate School in 1964.

ORGANIZATIONS: Member of Tau Beta Pi, Society of Sigma Xi, and Sigma Nu

SPECIAL HONORS: Presented the NASA Distinguished Service Medal in 1973; 

the Johnson Space Center Superior Achievement Award in 1970; the Navy 

Distinguished Service Medal in 1973; Navy Astronaut wings; eight Air Medals, the Viet Nam Service Medal; and the Navy 

Commendation Medal with combat distinguishing service in 1966; the University of Kansas Distinguished Service Citation 

in 1973; Kansan of the Year in 1972.

EXPERIENCE: When notified of his selection to the astronaut program, Evans was on sea duty in the Pacific—assigned to 

VF51 and flying F8 aircraft from the carrier USS TICONDEROGA during a period of seven months in Viet Nam combat 

operation.

He was a combat flight instructor (F8 aircraft) with VF-124 from January 1961 to June 1962 and, prior to this assignment, 

participated in two WESTPAC aircraft carrier cruises while a pilot with VF-142. In June 1957, he completed flight training 

after receiving his commission as an Ensign through the Navy ROTC Program at the University of Kansas.

Total flight time accrued during his career is 5,100 hours, including 4,600 hours in jet aircraft.

NASA EXPERIENCE: Captain Evans was one of the 19 astronauts selected by NASA in April 1966. He served as a 

member of the astronaut support crews for the Apollo 7 and Apollo 11 flights and as backup command module pilot for 

Apollo 14.

On his first journey into space, Captain Evans occupied the command module pilot seat for Apollo 17 which commenced at 

11:33 p.m. (CST), December 6, 1972, and concluded on December 19, 1972—the last scheduled manned mission to the 

moon for the United States. He was accompanied on this voyage of the command module “America” and the lunar module 

“Challenger” by Eugene Cernan, spacecraft commander, and Harrison H. (Jack) Schmitt (lunar module pilot). While Cernan 

and Schmitt completed their explorations of the Taurus-Littrow landing area down on the lunar surface, Evans maintained a 

solo vigil in lunar orbit aboard the “America”, completing assigned work tasks which required visual geological 

observations, hand-held photography of specific targets, and the control of cameras and other highly sophisticated scientific 

equipment carried in the command module SIM-bay. Evans later completed a 1-hour, 6-minute extravehicular activity 

during the transearth coast phase of the return flight, successfully retrieving three camera cassettes and completing a personal 

inspection of the equipment bay area. This last mission to the moon for the United States broke several records set by 

previous flights which include: longest manned lunar landing flight, 3 01 hours, 51 minutes; longest lunar surface 

extravehicular activities, 22 hours, 4 minutes; largest lunar sample return, an estimated 115 kg, 249 lbs.; and longest time in

lunar orbit, 147 hours, 48 minutes. Apollo 17 ended with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean approximately 0.4 mile from 

the target point and 4.3 miles from the prime recovery ship, the USS TICONDEROGA.

- more -

National Aeronautics and

Space Administration

Biographical Data

 Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center

 Houston, Texas 77058
Completing his first space flight, Captain Evans logged 301 hours, 51 minutes in space—1 hour, 6 minutes of which were 

spent in extravehicular activity. He holds the record of more time in lunar orbit than anyone else in the world.

Evans was backup command module pilot for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) mission. This joint United StatesSoviet Union earth-orbital mission, launched successfully in July 1975, was designed to test equipment and techniques that 

would establish an international crew rescue capability in space, as well as permit future cooperative scientific missions.

Evans retired from the United States Navy on April 30, 1976, with 21 years of service, and remained active as a NASA 

astronaut involved in the development of NASA’s Space Shuttle Program. He served as a member of the operations and 

training group, within the astronaut office, responsible for launch and ascent phases of the Shuttle flight program.

Evans retired from NASA in March 1977 to become a coal industry executive.

APRIL 1990