How Much Rats in Apollo 17

You may be wondering, “How much rats in Apollo 17?” The mice were carried to space on Apollo 17’s Command Module America, which is now on display at Space Center Houston. They orbited the Moon for more than six days alongside NASA astronaut Ronald Evans. They were protected from radiation and had enough food to survive the entire mission. Though one of the mice died for an unknown reason at the start of the mission, the remaining four survived to reach the moon’s surface.

The preliminary science report for Apollo 17 mentions a dead mouse named A-3352. The report also mentions the gender of the mice. The crew also listed the mice by weight and gender at the time of recovery. The mice were grouped according to their size and weight. While the scientists had only a rough idea of the complexity of the problem, they did not know the extent to which it would affect their bodies.

Scientists are now studying the long-term effects of cosmic rays on the human body. During long space flights, the rays can damage astronauts and spacecraft. Specifically, scientists are interested in how these particles affect the brain. The brain is especially vulnerable to cosmic radiation, since nerve cells do not regenerate.