Apollo 17 (December 7–19, 1972) was the final mission of NASA's Apollo program, with, on December 11, the most recent crewed lunar landing. Commander Gene Cernan (pictured) and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt walked on the Moon, while Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans orbited above. Under pressure to send a scientist to the Moon, NASA replaced Joe Engle with Schmitt, who became the only professional geologist to land on the Moon. Mission planners sought a site shaped by volcanism, and selected Taurus–Littrow, where apparently-volcanic features had been seen. The mission lifted off early on December 7 after the only launch- pad delay in the Apollo program. Cernan and Schmitt landed and completed three moonwalks, taking lunar samples and deploying scientific instruments. Orange soil discovered at Shorty crater proved to be volcanic in origin from early in the Moon's history. The command module, which also contained a biological experiment with five mice, returned to Earth on December 19.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_17
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1640:
A crowd of 1,500 people presented the Root and Branch petition to the Long Parliament, calling for abolishing the episcopacy of the Church of England. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root_and_Branch_petition
1907:
The original Parliament House in Wellington, New Zealand, was destroyed by fire (pictured). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_House,_Wellington
1925:
Pope Pius XI promulgated the encyclical Quas primas, establishing the Feast of Christ the King. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quas_primas
1972:
Apollo 17, the last Apollo mission, landed on the Moon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_17
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
kaleidoscope: 1. An instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen. 2. (figuratively) A constantly changing series of colours or other things. 3. (intransitive) To move in shifting (and often attractive or colourful) patterns. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kaleidoscope
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Can a man who's warm understand one who's freezing? --Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Aleksandr_Solzhenitsyn