In early April of 1972, NASA was preparing to launch the Apollo program's 10th manned mission, Apollo 16—the fifth to actually land on the Moon. This mission would be the penultimate trip in the Apollo program, carrying astronauts John Young, Charles Duke, and Ken Mattingly to the Moon, with Young and Duke headed to the lunar surface while Mattingly remained in orbit. Apollo 16 was the second expedition to bring a Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) along. The astronauts spent more than 20 hours exploring the surface of the Moon, driving 16.6 miles in their LRV, gathering 210 pounds of samples, and setting up a package of instruments and experiments. On April 27, 1972, the crew splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean, after 12 days away from Earth.
A Look Back at Apollo 16
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John Young gives a "thumb up" to well-wishers gathered in a hallway as he and crewmates leave to board the transfer van to the launch pad on April 16, 1972. #
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Liftoff of Apollo 16 on April 16, 1972. The crew of three was lifted into orbit atop a Saturn V SA-511 rocket, eventually hurling them toward the Moon at 22,000 miles per hour. #
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The LRV gets a speed workout by astronaut John W. Young in the "Grand Prix" run during the first Apollo 16 extravehicular activity (EVA) at the Descartes landing site on April 21, 1972. This view is a frame from motion picture film exposed by a 16mm Maurer camera held by astronaut Charles M. Duke Jr. #
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The LRV gets a speed workout by astronaut John W. Young in the "Grand Prix" run during the first Apollo 16 extravehicular activity (EVA) at the Descartes landing site on April 21, 1972 . #
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A plastic-encased photo of Astronaut Charles Duke's family, placed on on lunar surface by Duke. Written on the other side is the message "This is the family of Astronaut Duke from Planet Earth. Landed on the Moon, April 1972." #
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Astronaut John Young drives the LRV to its final parking place near the end of the third Apollo 16 EVAs at the Descartes landing site. Astronaut Charles M. Duke Jr., lunar module pilot, took this photograph looking southward. The shadow of the Lunar Module (LM) occupies much of the picture. #
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On April 25, 1972, astronaut Thomas Mattingly, command module pilot, performs an extravehicular activity during the Apollo 16 trans-Earth coast. Mattingly is assisted by astronaut Charles M. Duke Jr., lunar module pilot. Mattingly inspected the SIM Bay or Service Module (SM), and retrieved film from the Mapping and Panoramic Cameras. #
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