Once I finally stepped on the moon, no matter what was to come of the next three days - or the rest of my life - nobody could take those steps from me. People ask how long will they be there, and I say forever, however long forever is, like my daughter’s initials that I scribbled in the sand [TDC for Tracy Dawn Cernan].

We leave as we came, and, God willing, as we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind.

Today, we are on a path of decay. We are seeing the book close on five decades of accomplishment as the leader in human space exploration.

Get the shuttle out of the garage. It's in its prime of its life. How could we just put it away?

Nobody can take those footsteps I made on the surface of the moon away from me.

I know the stars are my home. I learned about them, needed them for survival in terms of navigation. I know where I am when I look up at the sky. I know where I am when I look up at the Moon; it's not just some abstract romantic idea, it's something very real to me. See, I've expanded my home.

I've been asked about UFOs and I've said publicly I thought they were somebody else, some other civilization.