Apollo 16

“The Highlands of the Moon”

Crew: John W. Young (Commander); Charles M. Duke Jr. (Lunar Module Pilot);
Thomas K. Mattingly II (Command Module Pilot)

Launch Vehicle: Saturn V

Spacecraft: Casper (CM-113), Orion (LM-11)

Launch Date: April 16, 1972

Return Date: April 27, 1972

Apollo 16 was the second mission to feature a Lunar Rover. The LM was piloted down to the lunar surface in the Moon’s Descartes region: a highlands area of the moon characterized by hilly, grooved, furrowed terrain thought to have been formed by volcanic activity, the Cayley formation and the Kant Plateau. The Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) deployed by the astronauts was the fourth such station to become operational after Apollo 12, 14 and 15.

During 71 hours, two minutes of moonwalks, astronauts explored region on three EVAs totaling 20 hours, 14 minutes. They collected 209 pounds of samples while driving the rover 16.6 miles.