Apollo 16

Apollo 16 was the tenth crewed mission in NASA's Apollo program and the fifth to land humans on the Moon. Launched from the Kennedy Space Center on April 16, 1972, the mission was commanded by John Young, with Ken Mattingly as Command Module Pilot and Charles Duke as Lunar Module Pilot. The crew explored the Descartes Highlands, a region chosen for its suspected volcanic geology, over three moonwalks and deployed the second Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package.

Mission overview

The primary objectives of the mission were to conduct geological surveys and sampling in the Descartes Highlands, deploy and activate surface experiments, and conduct in-flight experiments and photographic tasks from lunar orbit. The mission utilized a Saturn V rocket, designated SA-511, for launch and featured the Command Module Casper and the Lunar Module Orion. Key operational milestones included a Trans-lunar injection burn by the S-IVB stage, a successful docking and extraction maneuver, and a critical engine burn to correct the spacecraft's trajectory after an issue with the Service Module's main engine was detected. The mission timeline included 71 hours on the lunar surface and a total of 11 days in space.

Crew

The prime crew consisted of Commander John Young, a veteran of Gemini 3 and Apollo 10; Command Module Pilot Ken Mattingly, who had been originally assigned to Apollo 13; and Lunar Module Pilot Charles Duke, a rookie astronaut. The backup crew was Fred Haise (Commander), Stuart Roosa (Command Module Pilot), and Edgar Mitchell (Lunar Module Pilot). The support team included astronauts like Vance Brand and Harrison Schmitt. Mattingly had been exposed to rubella before Apollo 13 but was cleared for this flight, while Duke contracted the illness from Mattingly's son prior to the mission but had recovered.

Mission highlights

Following launch, the crew performed a Transposition, docking, and extraction maneuver to retrieve the Lunar Module from the S-IVB stage. En route to the Moon, a problem with the backup system for the Service Module's Service Propulsion System engine nearly caused mission abort, but flight controllers at the Manned Spacecraft Center determined it was safe to proceed. Young and Duke landed Orion in the Descartes Highlands on April 21. During three EVAs totaling over 20 hours, they used the Lunar Roving Vehicle to explore sites like Stone Mountain and North Ray crater, collecting 95.8 kg of lunar samples. A highlight was the discovery of the "House Rock" sample at North Ray crater. Meanwhile, Mattingly in Casper conducted extensive orbital science, including operating the Scientific Instrument Module and its Mapping camera.

Scientific results

The geological samples collected, predominantly breccia and anorthosite, proved the Descartes Highlands were not volcanic in origin as predicted, but were instead formed by massive impacts, revolutionizing understanding of the Moon's early crust. The deployed Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package included a Passive Seismic Experiment, a Heat Flow Experiment, and a Lunar Surface Magnetometer. Mattingly's orbital work yielded high-quality photographs using the Fairchild Mapping camera and data from the Gamma-ray spectrometer, helping to map surface composition. The mission also carried biological experiments, including the Microbial Ecology Evaluation Device and the Cosmic Ray Detector.

Legacy and spacecraft location

The success of Apollo 16 cemented the capabilities of the J-mission series, demonstrating extended lunar surface operations and sophisticated scientific exploration. The mission's findings were crucial for the planning of the final mission, Apollo 17. The Command Module Casper is on display at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The Lunar Module ascent stage was intentionally impacted on the Moon after the crew returned to Casper, and its descent stage remains at the Descartes landing site. A portion of the mission's Saturn V rocket is displayed at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

Category:Apollo program Category:Human spaceflight missions Category:1972 in spaceflight