The LuLac Edition #3673, December 19th, 2017

APOLLO 17: THE LAST HOMECOMING TO EARTH @ 45

(Photos: NASA)

Today is the 45th anniversary of the safe return from men on the Moon to Earth. the crew jettisoned the no-longer-needed Service Module, leaving only the Command Module for return to Earth. The Apollo 17 spacecraft reentered Earth's atmosphere and landed safely in the Pacific Ocean at 2:25 pm, 6.4 kilometers (4.0 mi) from the recovery ship, USS Ticonderoga. Cernan, Evans and Schmitt were then retrieved by a recovery helicopter and were safely aboard the recovery ship 52 minutes after landing.
The three came home to a country and government no longer interested in space flight. Perhaps we lost our appetite for learning.
Apollo 17 was the final mission of NASA's Apollo program. Launched at 12:33 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on December 7, 1972, with a crew made up of Commander Eugene Cernan, Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans, and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt, it was the last use of Apollo hardware for its original purpose; after Apollo 17, extra Apollo spacecraft were used in the Skylab and Apollo–Soyuz programs.
Apollo 17 was the first night launch of a U.S. human spaceflight and the final manned launch of a Saturn V rocket. It was a "J-type mission" which included three days on the lunar surface, extended scientific capability, and the third Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV). While Evans remained in lunar orbit in the Command/Service Module (CSM), Cernan and Schmitt spent just over three days on the moon in the Taurus–Littrow valley and completed three moonwalks, taking lunar samples and deploying scientific instruments. Evans took scientific measurements and photographs from orbit using a Scientific Instruments Module mounted in the Service Module.
The landing site was chosen with the primary objectives of Apollo 17 in mind: to sample lunar highland material older than the impact that formed Mare Imbrium, and investigate the possibility of relatively new volcanic activity in the same area. Cernan, Evans and Schmitt returned to Earth on December 19 after a 12-day mission.
Apollo 17 is the most recent manned Moon landing and was the last time humans travelled beyond low Earth orbit. It was also the first mission to have no one on board who had been a test pilot; X-15 test pilot Joe Engle lost the lunar module pilot assignment to Schmitt, a scientist.[5] The mission broke several records: the longest moon landing, longest total extravehicular activities (moonwalks),[6] largest lunar sample, and longest time in lunar orbit.
Apollo 17 included a biological cosmic ray experiment (BIOCORE), carrying mice that had been implanted with radiation monitors to see whether they suffered damage from cosmic rays.
Five pocket mice (Perognathus longimembris) were implanted with radiation monitors under their scalps and flown on the mission. The species was chosen because it was well-documented, small, easy to maintain in an isolated state (not requiring drinking water for the duration of the mission and with highly concentrated waste), and for its ability to withstand environmental stress. Four of the five mice survived the flight; the cause of death of the fifth mouse was not determined.
The study found lesions in the scalp itself and liver. The scalp lesions and liver lesions appeared to be unrelated to one another, and were not thought to be the result of cosmic rays. No damage was found in the mice's retinas or viscera. At the time of the publication of the Apollo 17 Preliminary Science Report, the mouse brains had not yet been examined. However, subsequent studies showed no significant effect on the brains.
Officially, the mice—four male and one female—were assigned the identification numbers A3326, A3400, A3305, A3356 and A3352. Unofficially, according to Cernan, the Apollo 17 crew dubbed them "Fe", "Fi", "Fo", "Fum" and "Phooey".
Apollo 18 was cancelled in 1970 and no human has walked on the Moon since. 
One of the positive aspects  of this administration is that they want to reinvigorate the Space program. That's good news. Let it begin. 
(Time, wikipedia, LuLac)