Apollo 16
| Mission type | Crewed lunar landing |
|---|---|
| Operator | NASA |
| COSPAR ID | 1972-031A |
| SATCAT no. | 06000 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | |
| Manufacturer |
|
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 3 |
| Members | |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Selenocentric |
| |
Apollo 16 was the tenth crewed space flight in NASA's Apollo program. It was the 5th of six Apollo missions to land on the Moon. It was a J-Type mission, which meant that the astronauts would have a longer stay on the Moon. Launched on April 16, 1972, Ken Mattingly stayed in orbit around the Moon in the Apollo Command Module, Casper. He spent 3 days, 9 hours and 28 minutes by himself, the longest solo US space flight.[1]: 77 On the Moon, astronauts John Young and Charles Duke got to put the Lunar Roving Vehicle ("moon buggy") through a series of tests, including s-turns, hairpin turns and quick stops.[2] John Young was the commander of the mission.
A satellite was launched on the return journey to examine the Moon's mass and gravitation, space particles near the Moon, and the interaction of magnetic fields between the Moon and Earth.[2] The mission was stopped one day early as there were several problems with the spacecraft.[3]
References
[change | change source]- ↑ Furniss, Tim (2001). The History of Space Vehicles. London: Grange Books. ISBN 1-84013-370-8.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "NASA - Apollo 16". nasa.gov. 2009. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
- ↑ "Astronaut Bio: Thomas K. Mattingly II". jsc.nasa.gov. 2010 [last update]. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
