Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 233 › Conversation 233-001

Nixon, Cernan & Evans on Apollo 17 and Space Exploration

Tuesday, December 5, 1972 · 9:31 PM–9:39 PM ET · Camp David Hard Wire · 6 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Cernan, Eugene A.; Evans, Ronald E.; Schmitt, Harrison H. ("Jack")Conversation233-001 on Tape 233StartTuesday, December 5, 1972 at 9:31 PMEndTuesday, December 5, 1972 at 9:39 PMRecording deviceCamp David Hard WireSourceNixon Library record for 233-001 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with the crew of Apollo 17—Eugene Cernan, Ronald Evans, and Harrison Schmitt—to offer his best wishes and support prior to their upcoming lunar mission. The conversation focused on the significance of the final moon landing, the inclusion of civilian scientist Harrison Schmitt, and the crew's operational roles. Amidst the well-wishes, Nixon briefly noted the difficulty of the ongoing Vietnam peace negotiations, expressing his commitment to achieving a lasting settlement.

  • Apollo 17
  • Space Exploration
  • NASA
  • Vietnam War
  • Presidential Diplomacy

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello, how are you?
Well, Jim, good to talk to you.
How are you and all the crew there?
It's a rather unusual time to call you, but I understand you're eating late to get adjusted to what you're going to be doing later on.
You've got the first civilian along.
You think you can handle him?
You have two ladies, the Commander Evans and Dr. Schmidt.
Do you call him doctor or Jack?
I know.
Well, I just want you to know that we're all going to be pulling for you.
We'll be watching on television and looking forward to welcoming you and your wives when you return at the White House.
And we'll be in touch with you then.
And in the meantime, I'm just thinking this is the last of the moon landings, but it's not the least.
Because this has got to be the best, right?
It'll be good enough.
I mean, as a former Navy person, I can... Of course, all you guys rank me as far as Navy is concerned.
But I just want you to know that we will certainly follow the great interest.
I won't be able to see as much as I would like, because I've got a few other things to do, but...
I'll catch it late at night, and sometimes in the morning, too.
It's a tough one.
We're having some, well, they're tough.
We may have to go another round with them, but we're going to keep at it until we get the right kind of a deal.
We don't want to make a bad deal.
A bad piece will lead to more war.
We want the right kind of a piece.
I was on the phone.
Yeah.
Fine, let me talk to him.
Fine.
Of course, you're an old-timer.
You were around 9, 10, right?
Right.
Of course.
Well, I...
Yes.
Well, fine.
We just want to wish you the best.
You're going to be up there circling around while these other fellows are looking around the moon.
So it is.
That's right.
You'll be up there.
Well, I say up or out or whatever they say.
These guys have to depend on you because if you aren't there, they're not going to be able to get back.
Right.
Right.
Give them a good ride.
Is Dr. Schmidt there, too?
Right.
Well, we're glad to have finally one civilian made it, huh?
Yeah, I know, I know.
Yeah, yeah, well, of course, it says here you're a scientist, but I assume these other fellows are scientists, too, aren't they?
You'll be able to educate them a lot.
You've got a long time on that thing going up and back, haven't you?
Well, we look forward to...
Right.
What do you think you need tonight?
It's bright.
Yeah, well, you lose a little weight, but you'll gain it all back when you get back.
We look forward to welcoming you, and we wish you the best, and we extend our best to your families, and we know it's going to be a great mission.
Challenger, I noticed.
That's right.
America, it's a great name, and of course, Challenger, that's the module, right?
That's the one that drops down.
Well, December the 11th.
the day of the landing, right?
You land on the 11th and go out and do your walking, hit the golf ball several hundred yards.
This is one time you don't have to worry about distance.
Even with the way I'm able to hit it, you can get more than 200 yards this time, can't you?
Right?
Well, we wish you the best when you get back.
I'll give you three golf balls just as a reminder.
Okay.
All right.
Yeah.
I've been calling every one of the crews since I've been in and in office, and it's always a big thrill to talk to you and to know that we've got such great fellows in this program and willing to take these great risks for the service of the country and the service of science as well.
Oh, I know those thousands on the ground at Houston and down at the Cape and around the world.
It's quite a group.
Well, we wish you the best and we'll Godspeed all the way.
Well, we got it.
got a few little problems in trying to work this Vietnam thing out, but it'll come out in the end.
It'll take a little more time, but it'll work out.
And anyway, we'll try to do as well here as you do there.
Okay.
You bet.
We'll welcome you at the White House.
Okay.
Bye.

NARA Description

On December 5, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Eugene A. Cernan, Ronald E. Evans, and Harrison H. ("Jack") Schmitt met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 9:31 pm to 9:39 pm. The Camp David Hard Wire taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 233-001 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 233-001

Date: December 5, 1972
Time: 9:31 pm - 9:39 pm
Location: Camp David Hard Wire

       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

The President talked with Capt. Eugene A. Cernan, Cdr. Ronald E. Evans, and Harrison H
(“Jack”) Schmitt.

[See Conversation No. 157-2]

Also recorded on December 6, 1972

  • 157-001 9:00 PM · 28 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 9:00 pm and 9:31 pm.
  • 233-023 9:00 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 9:00 pm and 9:31 pm.
  • 157-002 9:31 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Eugene A. Cernan, Ronald E. Evans, and Harrison H. ("Jack") Schmitt talked on the telephone at Camp David from 9:31 pm to 9:39 pm.
  • 157-003 9:39 PM · 22 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 9:39 pm and 10:05 pm.
  • 233-002 9:39 PM · 54 sec — President Richard M. Nixon met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 9:39 pm and 10:05 pm.
  • 233-003 9:39 PM · 34 sec — President Richard M. Nixon met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 9:39 pm and 10:05 pm.
  • 233-004 9:39 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 9:39 pm and 10:05 pm.
  • 233-005 9:39 PM · 20 sec — President Richard M. Nixon met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 9:39 pm and 10:05 pm.

All 49 conversations from December 6, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 233-001, December 6, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/233-001 (accessed October 10, 2026).