Apollo 16
| Mission Insignia | |
|---|---|
| |
| Mission Statistics | |
| Mission Name: | Apollo 16 |
| Call Sign: | Command module: Casper Lunar module: Orion |
| Number of Crew: | 3 |
| Launch: | April 16, 1972 17:54:00 UTC Kennedy Space Center LC 39A |
| Lunar Landing: | April 21, 1972 02:23:35 UTC 8ð 58' 22.84" S - 15ð 30' 0.68" E Descartes Highlands |
| Lunar EVA length: | 1st: 7 h 11 min 2 s 2nd: 7 h 23 min 9 s 3rd: 5 h 40 min 3 s Total:20 h 14 min 14 s |
| CMP EVA: | 1 h 23 min 42 s |
| Lunar Surface Time: | 71 h 2 min 13 s |
| Lunar Sample Mass: | 95.71 kg |
| Landing: | April 27, 1972 19:45:05 UTC 0ð 43' S - 156ð 13' W |
| Duration: | 265 h 51 min 05 s |
| Number of Lunar Orbits: | 64 |
| Time in Lunar Orbit: | 125 h 49 min 32.59 s |
| Mass: | CSM 30,395 kg; LM 16,445 kg |
| Crew Picture | |
 Apollo 16 crew portrait (L-R: Mattingly, Young and Duke) | |
| Apollo 16 Crew | |
Apollo 16 was the tenth manned mission in the Apollo program and the fifth mission to land on the moon.
| Table of contents |
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2 Mission Parameters 3 Mission Highlights 4 External link |
The Apollo 16 subsatellite was launched from the CSM while it was in lunar orbit. The subsatellite carried out experiments on magnetic fields and solar particles. It was launched April 24, 1972 at 21:56:09 UTC and orbited the Moon for 34 days and 425 revolutions. It had a mass of 36.3 kg and consisted of a central cylinder and three 1.5 m booms.
John Young salutes the flag. (NASA)
Crew
Mission Parameters
8ð 58' 22.84" S - 15ð 30' 0.68" ESee also
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. Mission Highlights
A malfunction in the main propulsion system of the lunar module "Orion" nearly caused their Moon landing to be scrubbed but Young and Duke ultimately spent three days exploring the Descarres highland region, while Mattingly circled overhead in "Casper." What was thought to have been a region of volcanism turned out not to be, based on the astronauts' discoveries. Their collection of returned specimens included an 11.34-kilogram chunk that was the largest single rock returned by the Apollo astronauts. The Apollo 16 astronauts also conducted performance tests with the lunar rover, at one time getting up to a top speed of 17.70 kilometers per hour. Introduction
The crew members: John W. Young, commander; Ken Mattingly, command module pilot; and Charles Duke, lunar module pilot. It was a J-class mission, featuring Lunar Rover. It brought back 94.7 kg of lunar samples. It included three lunar EVA: 7.2 hours, 7.4 hours, 5.7 hours and one trans-earth EVA of 1.4. This was only the second trans-earth EVA ever and was used to bring in film from exterior cameras and open an experiment on microbial survival.Relics
The command module is currently at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, in Huntsville, Alabama. The lunar module separated 24 April 1972 but a loss of attitude control rendered it out of control. It orbited the moon for about a year. Its impact site on the Moon is unknown.
| Preceded by : Apollo 15 |
Apollo program | Followed by : Apollo 17 |