Apollo 16

Apollo 16
Mission insignia
Apollo-16-LOGO.png
Mission statistics[1]
Mission name Apollo 16
Command Module CM-113
callsign Casper
mass 30,395 kg
Service Module SM-113
Lunar Module LM-11
callsign Orion
mass 16,445 kg
Crew size 3
Booster Saturn V SA-511
Launch pad LC 39A
Kennedy Space Center
Florida, USA
Launch date April 16, 1972
17:54:00 UTC
Lunar landing April 21, 1972   02:23:35 UTC
Descartes Highlands

(based on the IAU
Mean Earth Polar Axis coordinate system)
Lunar EVA duration First 07:11:02
Second   07:23:09
Third 05:40:03
Total 20:14:14
Lunar surface time 2 d 23 h 02 m 13 s
Lunar Roving Vehicle LRV-2
CMP EVA duration 01:23:42
Lunar sample mass 95.71 kg (211 lb)
Total CSM time in lunar orbit 5 d 05 h 49 m 32 s
Landing April 27, 1972
19:45:05 UTC
Mission duration 11 d 01 h 51 m 05 s
Crew photo
Apollo 16 crew.jpg
Left to right: Mattingly, Young, Duke
Related missions
Previous mission Subsequent mission
Apollo 15-insignia.png Apollo 15 Apollo 17-insignia.png Apollo 17
Location of the Apollo 16 landing site

Apollo 16 was the tenth manned mission in the Apollo program. It was the fifth mission to land on the Moon and the first to land in a highlands area. The mission was launched on April 16, 1972, and concluded on April 27. It was a J-class mission, featuring a Lunar Rover and brought back 94.7kg 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 hours.

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 80 lb (36 kg) and consisted of a central cylinder and three 1.5 m booms.

En route to the Moon, the Apollo 16 astronauts took several photos of Earth, one of which was with North America in the background, with much of the northern portion of the continent under extensive cloud cover.

Despite a malfunction in the Command Module which almost aborted the lunar landing, Apollo 16 landed successfully in the Descartes Highlands on April 21.

Contents

Crew

Position Astronaut
Commander John W. Young
Fourth spaceflight
Command Module Pilot T. Kenneth Mattingly Jr.
First spaceflight
Lunar Module Pilot Charles M. Duke Jr.
First spaceflight

Young and Duke served as the backup crew to Apollo 13; Mattingly was slated as the Apollo 13 command module pilot until being pulled from the mission due to his exposure to rubella by Duke.

Backup crew

Position Astronaut
Commander Fred W. Haise, Jr
Command Module Pilot Stuart A. Roosa
Lunar Module Pilot Edgar D. Mitchell

Although not officially announced, the original backup crew consisted of Fred Haise (CDR), William R. Pogue (CMP) and Gerald Carr (LMP) who were targeted for the prime crew assignment on Apollo 19.[2] However, after the widely-expected cancellations of Apollo 18 and Apollo 19 were finalized in September 1970 it meant that this crew would not rotate to a lunar mission as planned. Subsequently, Roosa and Mitchell were recycled to serve as members of the backup crew after returning from Apollo 14 while Pogue and Carr were re-assigned to the Skylab program where they later flew on Skylab 4.

Support crew

Mission parameters

8° 58' 22.84" S - 15° 30' 0.68" E

LM - CSM docking

EVAs

Mattingly's EVA was only the second trans-earth EVA ever and was used to bring in film from exterior cameras and conduct an experiment on microbial survival.

The splashdown point was 0 deg 43 min S, 156 deg 13 min W, 215 miles (346 km) southeast of Christmas Island (Kiritimati) and 5 km (3.1 mi) from the recovery ship USS Ticonderoga.

Mission highlights

The Saturn V launches Apollo 16 to the Moon
John Young jumps while saluting the American flag

A malfunction in a backup yaw gimbal servo loop in the main propulsion system of the CSM Casper caused concerns about firing the engine to adjust the CSM's lunar orbit, and nearly caused the Moon landing to be aborted. After a delayed first landing attempt, it was determined that the malfunction presented relatively little risk, and Young and Duke (who were already undocked, and flying LM Orion when the problem occurred) were permitted to land on the Moon.

Young and Duke spent three days exploring the Descartes highland region, while Mattingly circled overhead in Casper. This was the only one of the six Apollo landings to target the lunar highlands. The astronauts discovered that what was thought to have been a region of volcanism was actually a region full of impact-formed rocks (breccias). Their collection of returned specimens included a 25 pound (11 kg) chunk that was the largest single rock returned by the Apollo astronauts[3] (nicknamed "Big Muley" after Bill Muehlberger, principal investigator for the mission's geology activities[4]). The scientific results of Apollo 16 caused planetary geologists to revise previous interpretations of the lunar highlands, concluding that meteorite impacts were the dominant agent in shaping the Moon's ancient surfaces.

The Apollo 16 astronauts also conducted performance tests with the lunar rover, at one time getting up to a top speed of eleven miles per hour (eighteen kilometers per hour), which still stands as the record speed for any wheeled vehicle on the Moon (listed as such in the Guinness Book of Records).

John Young works at the LRV near the LM Orion

Apollo 16 was originally scheduled for splashdown at 3:30pm EST on April 28, however, the mission was shortened by a day (reducing the time in orbit around the Moon after the LM left the Moon and docked with the CSM) because of the problems with the command module prior to landing. As Charlie Duke described on the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal website: "The more you waited up there - if you did have a problem - the less time you had to think of something brilliant to fix it. They got a little nervous and brought us home a day early, I think, just to make sure we could have some ample time to fix any problems."[5] However, there were no problems encountered during the return flight.

Subsatellite

The subsatellite (PFS-2) was a 78 cm x 36 cm hexagonal cylinder weighing 36.3 kg. Launched from the Service Module while in orbit around the Moon, the subsatellite's mission was to measure plasma, energetic particle intensities and the lunar magnetic fields. The craft was launched through a spring action, which generated a relative velocity of around 1.2 m/s and a spin of 120 rpm. It returned data from 24 April to 29 May 1972 with an orbital period of around 120 minutes. It was launched into a sub-optimal inclination and the orbit decayed earlier than anticipated, with impact occurring after 425 revolutions.[6]

Spacecraft locations

Mock-up of Orion on display at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center

The Apollo 16 command module Casper is currently on display at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, in Huntsville, Alabama. The lunar module ascent stage 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.

The plaque left on the Moon by Apollo 16

Charles Duke donated some flown items, including a lunar map, to Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Georgia. Duke left two items on the Moon, both of which he photographed. The most famous is a plastic-encased photo portrait of his family on the Moon (NASA Photo AS16-117-18841). The reverse of the photo is signed by Duke's family and bears this message: "This is the family of Astronaut Duke from Planet Earth. Landed on the Moon, April 1972." The other item was a commemorative medal issued by the United States Air Force, which was celebrating its 25th anniversary in 1972. He took two medals, leaving one on the Moon and donating the other to the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base museum.[7]

Mission insignia

Panoramic Assembly of Apollo 16 Plum and Flag Craters (moonpans.com)
Robbins Medallion from Apollo 16

The circular patch featured an eagle with wings outstretched, perched atop a red, white, and blue shield, over a lunar surface. The vector symbol from the NASA logo was placed on top of the shield, and then across the shield were written the words APOLLO 16. The artwork was bordered in white, with a blue band carrying 16 stars and the crew names. There was a gold border. The patch was designed by NASA artist Barbara Matelski.

Quotes

"I mean, I haven't eaten this much citrus fruit in 20 years! And I'll tell you one thing, in another 12 days, I ain't never eating any more."—John Young in an air-to-ground transmission, reacting to stomach problems caused by drinking potassium-enriched orange juice (to prevent an electrolyte deficiency identified in the crew of Apollo 15).[8][9]

Media

See also

References

  1. ↑ Richard W. Orloff. "Apollo by the Numbers: A Statistical Reference (SP-4029)". NASA. http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4029/Apollo_00g_Table_of_Contents.htm. 
  2. ↑ Donald K. Slayton, "Deke!" (New York: Forge, 1994), 262
  3. ↑ Lunar Sample Facility Tour - Pristine Sample Laboratory Display Cabinet
  4. ↑ "Apollo 16 Video Library". http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a16/video16.html. 
  5. ↑ "Apollo 16 Lunar Surface Journal". NASA. 2009-06-25. http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a16/a16.html. Retrieved 2010-08-14. 
  6. ↑ "Apollo 16 Subsatellite". NSSDC. NASA. http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/masterCatalog.do?sc=1972-031D. Retrieved 2009-07-18. 
  7. ↑ Swanson, Glen E., ed. 1999. "'Before This Decade is Out....': Personal Reflections on the Apollo Program [sp4223]," Washington, D.C.: NASA, chapter 11. http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4223/ch11.htm. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
  8. ↑ Chaikin, Andrew: "A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts", page 476. Penguin, 1998
  9. ↑ Apollo 16 Journal

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