Apollo 16

Apollo 16 was the first mission to land in the lunar highlands. John Young and Charles Duke explored the Descartes region, collected 95.8 kg of samples, and operated the LRV for 26.7 km of travel.

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Agency / Country

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (United States)

Mission Status

LANDED

Launch / Target Year

1972

Spacecraft / Type

Apollo LM Orion

Landing Site Zone

Descartes Highlands

Surface Coordinates

Lat -8.973°, Lon 15.5°

Mission Imagery & Gallery

Apollo 16 photograph 1: NASA — John Young collects samples near House Rock, Descartes Highlands, April 1972. (NASA, public domain) — NASA — John Young collects samples near House Rock, Descartes Highlands, April 1972. (NASA, public domain)

Primary Achievement

First highlands landing and exploration

Mission Objectives

First landing in the lunar highlands (Descartes region)
Collect 95.8 kg of highland rock and soil samples
Deploy ALSEP with cosmic ray and other instruments
Operate LRV over 26.7 km of terrain
Test Lunar Ultraviolet Camera/Spectrograph

Timeline Events

1972-04-16 — Launch from Kennedy Space Center
1972-04-21 — Orion lands at Descartes Highlands
1972-04-21 — First EVA — ALSEP deployment and sampling
1972-04-22 — Second EVA — Stone Mountain traverse
1972-04-23 — Third EVA — North Ray Crater traverse
1972-04-27 — Crew splashdown, Pacific Ocean

Related Missions

Apollo 15 (1971) · NASA
Apollo 17 (1972) · NASA

Historical & Technical Sources

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