Apollo 16

Apollo 16

John Young on the Moon, with the Lunar Module and Lunar Rover in the background
Mission type	Manned lunar landing
Operator	NASA
COSPAR ID	CSM: 1972-031A LM: 1972-031C
SATCAT №	CSM: 6000 LM: 6005
Mission duration	11 days, 1 hour, 51 minutes, 5 seconds
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Apollo CSM-113 Apollo LM-11
Manufacturer	CSM: North American Rockwell LM: Grumman
Launch mass	107,226 pounds (48,637 kg)
Landing mass	11,995 pounds (5,441 kg)
Crew
Crew size	3
Members	John W. Young Thomas K. Mattingly II Charles M. Duke, Jr.
Callsign	CSM: Casper LM: Orion
EVAs	1 in cislunar space Plus 4 on the lunar surface
EVA duration	1 hours, 23 minutes, 42 seconds Spacewalk to retrieve film cassettes
Start of mission
Launch date	April 16, 1972, 17:54:00 (1972-04-16UTC17:54Z) UTC
Rocket	Saturn V SA-511
Launch site	Kennedy LC-39A
End of mission
Recovered by	USS Ticonderoga
Landing date	April 27, 1972, 19:45:05 (1972-04-27UTC19:45:06Z) UTC
Landing site	South Pacific Ocean 0°43′S 156°13′W / 0.717°S 156.217°W / -0.717; -156.217 (Apollo 16 splashdown)
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Selenocentric
Periselene	20.2 kilometers (10.9 nmi)
Aposelene	108.3 kilometers (58.5 nmi)
Epoch	April 20, 1972, 00:27 UTC
Lunar orbiter
Spacecraft component	Command/Service Module
Orbital insertion	April 19, 1972, 20:22:27 UTC
Departed orbit	April 25, 1972, 02:15:33 UTC
Orbits	64
Lunar lander
Spacecraft component	Lunar Module
Landing date	April 21, 1972, 02:23:35 UTC
Return launch	April 24, 1972, 01:25:47 UTC
Landing site	Descartes Highlands 8°58′23″S 15°30′01″E / 8.97301°S 15.50019°E / -8.97301; 15.50019
Sample mass	95.71 kilograms (211.0 lb)
Surface EVAs	3
EVA duration	20 hours, 14 minutes, 14 seconds First: 07 hours, 11 minutes, 02 seconds Second: 07 hours, 23 minutes, 09 seconds Third: 05 hours, 40 minutes, 03 seconds
Lunar rover
Distance covered	26.7 kilometers (16.6 mi)
Docking with LM
Docking date	April 16, 1972, 21:15:53 UTC
Undocking date	April 20, 1972, 18:07:31 UTC
Docking with LM Ascent Stage
Docking date	April 24, 1972, 03:35:18 UTC
Undocking date	April 24, 1972, 20:54:12 UTC
Payload
Scientific Instrument Module Lunar Roving Vehicle
Mass	SIM: LRV: 463 pounds (210 kg)
Left to right: Mattingly, Young, Duke Apollo program ← Apollo 15 Apollo 17 →

Apollo 16 was the tenth manned mission in the United States Apollo space program, the fifth and penultimate to land on the Moon and the first to land in the lunar highlands. The second of the so-called "J missions," it was crewed by Commander John Young, Lunar Module Pilot Charles Duke and Command Module Pilot Ken Mattingly. Launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 12:54 PM EST on April 16, 1972, the mission lasted 11 days, 1 hour, and 51 minutes, and concluded at 2:45 PM EST on April 27.

Young and Duke spent 71 hours—just under three days—on the lunar surface, during which they conducted three extra-vehicular activities or moonwalks, totaling 20 hours and 14 minutes. The pair drove the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV), the second produced and used on the Moon, 26.7 kilometers (16.6 mi). On the surface, Young and Duke collected 95.8 kilograms (211 lb) of lunar samples for return to Earth, while Command Module Pilot Ken Mattingly orbited in the Command/Service Module (CSM) above to perform observations. Mattingly spent 126 hours and 64 revolutions in lunar orbit. After Young and Duke rejoined Mattingly in lunar orbit, the crew released a subsatellite from the Service Module (SM). During the return trip to Earth, Mattingly performed a one-hour spacewalk to retrieve several film cassettes from the exterior of the Service Module.