Apollo 16 Returns: Moon Mission Safely Completed
Apollo 16 splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean on April 27, 1972, after astronauts John Young and Charles Duke spent 71 hours on the lunar surface in the Descartes Highlands. They collected 209 pounds of moon rocks and drove the Lunar Rover for 16.6 miles, the longest distance any Apollo crew covered on the surface. The mission nearly ended before landing when the command module's main engine developed an oscillation problem during lunar orbit. Mission Control spent six anxious hours analyzing the issue before clearing the Lunar Module to descend. Duke, at 36, was the youngest person to walk on the Moon. The samples they returned proved the Descartes region was formed by ancient impact events rather than volcanism, overturning prevailing geological theory.
April 27, 1972
54 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on April 27
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