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It's been 50 years since Apollo XVII

The last manned mission to the moon from the Apollo era brought along decades of research and inspiration
A display rocket
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COLORADO SPRINGS — Today marked the 50th anniversary of Apollo XVII's trip to the moon, the last manned lunar mission of the Apollo program.

In the Springs, the Space Foundation brought in a former NASA Rocket Engineer who's worked on several space missions to discuss the importance of the mission. Lou Ramon says there are several tangible and intangible benefits to going to space.

"It actually produced the largest amount of scientific information because it was the only flight we had that we actually had a geologist, Jack Schmidt, land on the moon," said Ramon.

Ramon spoke about his history with rockets and how he believes they inspire countless children to pursue STEM-related jobs. He says with the rise of the Artemis program, the future looks bright.

"It's important because it was the last mission of the Apollo program, and now it's important because we're moving on to Artemis, and we'll be going back to the moon probably within the next 5 or so years," said Ramon.
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