Apollo 16

Apollo 16 was the tenth crewed space flight in NASA's Apollo program. It was the 5th of six Apollo missions to land on the Moon. It was a J-Type mission, which meant that the astronauts would have a longer stay on the Moon. Launched on April 16, 1972, Ken Mattingly stayed in orbit around the Moon in the Apollo Command Module, Casper. He spent 3 days, 9 hours and 28 minutes by himself, the longest solo US space flight. On the Moon, astronauts John Young and Charles Duke got to put the Lunar Roving Vehicle ("moon buggy") through a series of tests, including s-turns, hairpin turns and quick stops. John Young was the commander of the mission.

Apollo 16

Mission type	Crewed lunar landing
Operator	NASA
COSPAR ID	{{#property:P247}}
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Apollo CSM Apollo LM
Manufacturer	CSM: North American Rockwell LM: Grumman
Crew
Crew size	3
Members	John Young Charles Duke Ken Mattingly
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Selenocentric
Apollo program

A satellite was launched on the return journey to examine the Moon's mass and gravitation, space particles near the Moon, and the interaction of magnetic fields between the Moon and Earth. The mission was stopped one day early as there were several problems with the spacecraft.

Apollo 16 Media

• 

  Apollo 16 space-flown silver Robbins medallion

• 

  Location of the Apollo 16 landing site

• 

  John Young and Charles Duke training at the Rio Grande Gorge in New Mexico

• 

  Young (right) and Duke training to drive the Lunar Roving Vehicle

• 

  Apollo 16's launch vehicle by the VAB, January 27, 1972

• 

  Apollo 16's Passive Seismic Experiment

• 

  The Lunar Surface Magnetometer

• 

  Artist's conception of subsatellite deployment

• 

  Apollo 16 lift-off

• 

  Earth from Apollo 16 during the trans-lunar coast, showing the USA at center

• Young driving the LRV during the "Grand Prix"