Today is the 40th anniversary of a dream that died. Apollo 17, the last manned expedition to the Moon, splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on Dec. 19, 1972. For the next 40 years, mankind would not venture farther than 400 miles above the Earth's surface. 2012 was also the year that Neil Armstrong passed away at age 82, a sad reminder that within the next decade, it is more than possible that none of the 12 human beings who left footprints on the lunar surface will still be with us.
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