Apollo 16
mission |
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Launched: 16 April 1972 UT 17:54:00 (12:54:00 p.m. EST)
John W. Young, commander |
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| Apollo 16 was the fifth mission in the Apollo series in which humans landed on t he moon. The 11-day scientific mission began on April 16, 1972, at 17:54 UT. (The launch was postponed from the originally scheduled d ate, March 17, because of a docking ring jettison malfunction.) Navy Capt. John W. Young and Air Force Lt. Charles W. Duke landed on the lunar surface in the lunar module (LM) on April 21. Navy Lt. Thomas K. Mattingly remained in the command and service module (CSM ) performing scientific experiments while the CSM was in an equatorial orbit about the moon. The LM landed in the Descartes region of the moon at approximately 9 deg S, 16 deg E. An Apollo lunar surface experiments package (ALSEP) was deployed on the surface, terrain s amples were acquired, and photographs were obtained by the surface astronauts and from the CM using 16-, 35-, and 70-mm film, 5- by 48- in. panoramic film, and 5- by 5-in. mapping film. The surface astronauts also tested the second lunar roving vehicle to be taken to th e moon by exploring regions within 4 km of the LM landing site. A subsatellite (72-031D) carrying an experiment package was launch ed into lunar orbit on April 24, 1972, and impacted with the moon after 425 revolutions on May 29, 1972. The Apollo 16 spacecraft wa s launched on April 16, 1972, and was injected into lunar orbit on April 19. The LM landed on the moon on April 21 and returned to t he CM on April 24. The CM left lunar orbit on April 25 and returned to Earth on April 27, 1972. Information on the Apollo 16 LM is cont ained in record 72-031C. The spacecraft mass of 30,396 kg is the mass of the CSM including propellants and expendables. Apollo 16 splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on 27 April 1972 at 19:45:05 UT (2: 45:05 p.m. EST) after a mission elapsed time of 265 hrs, 51 mins, 5 secs. The splashdown point was 0 deg 43 min S, 156 deg 13 min W, 215 miles southeast of Christmas Island and 5 km (3 mi) from the recovery ship USS Ticonderoga. The Apollo 16 Command Module "Casper " is on display at the Alabama Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. |
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A good view of the Earth photographed about one and one-half hours after translunar injection of April 16, 1972. Although there is much cloud cover, the United States in large part, most of Mexico and some of Central America are clearly visible. Note the Great Lakes (Michigan and Superior) and the Bahama Banks (note different shade of blue below Florida). |  (70k) |
Astronaut John W. Young, Apollo 16 commander, with a sample bag in his left hand, moves toward the bottom part of the gnomon (center) while collecting samples at the North Ray crater geological site. Note how soiled Young's extravehicular mobility unit (EMU) is during this third and final Apollo 16 extravehicular activity (EVA-3). The Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) is parked at upper left. | ||||||||||
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The Apollo 16 Command and Service Modules (CSM), as seen from the Lunar Module (LM, out of view) above terrain on the lunar farside. The two spacecraft had just undocked. The LM and CSM were out of communication at the time of this photograph's exposure, but shortly acquired the signal as they moved separately to the earth side of the moon. |  (67k) |
Astronaut John W. Young, commander of the Apollo 16 lunar landing mission, leaps from the lunar surface as he salutes the U.S. Flag at the Descartes landing site during the first Apollo 16 extravehicular activity (EVA-1). Astronaut Charles M. Duke Jr., lunar module pilot, took this picture. The Lunar Module (LM) "Orion" is on the left. The Lunar Roving Vehicle is parked beside the LM. The object behind Young in the shade of the LM is the Far Ultraviolet Camera/Spectrograph. Stone Mountain dominates the background in this lunar scene. | ||||||||||
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A closeup view of a block (about one-half meter long) found by Apollo 16 crewmen during second Apollo 16 extravehicular activity (EVA-2) near South Ray crater. |  (39k) |
Astronaut John W. Young, commander of the Apollo 16 lunar landing mission, is photographed collecting lunar samples near North Ray crater during the third Apollo 16 extravehicular activity (EVA-3) at the Descartes landing site. This picture was taken by Astronaut Charles M. Duke Jr., lunar module pilot. Young is using the lunar surface rake and a set of tongs. The Lunar Roving Vehicle is parked in the field of large boulders in the background. | ||||||||||
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Astronaut Charles M. Duke Jr., Apollo 16 lunar module pilot, stands at a rock adjacent (south) to the huge "House Rock" (barely out of view at right edge). Note shadow at extreme right center where the two moon-exploring crewmen of the mission sampled what they referred to as the "eastwest split of House Rock" or the open space between this rock and "House Rock". Duke has a sample bag in his hand, and a lunar surface rake leans against the large boulder. |  (34k) |
Astronaut Thomas K. Mattingly II, command module pilot of the Apollo 16 lunar landing mission, performs extravehicular activity (EVA) during the Apollo 16 transearth coast. mattingly is assisted by Astronaut Charles M. Duke Jr., lunar module pilot. Mattingly inspected the SIM bay of the Service Module, and retrieved film from the Mapping and Panoramic cameras. Mattingly is wearing the helmet of Astronaut John W. Young, commander. The helmet's lunar extravehicular visor assembly helped protect Mattingly's eyes frmo the bright sun. This view is a frame from motion picture film exposed by a 16mm Maurer camera. | ||||||||||
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