Exhibits

Apollo 16

Charles Moss Duke, Jr.

(1935 - )

Apollo 16 was the fifth of NASA's six manned lunar landing missions. The earlier missions had concentrated mostly on the valleys of the moon. Apollo 16 was scheduled to explore the mountains.

The crewmembers were: Commander, John W. Young; Command Module (Casper) Pilot, Thomas K. Mattingly II; and, Lunar Module (Orion) Pilot, Charles M. Duke, Jr.

The Apollo 16 Spacecraft was 360 feet tall and weighed 6.5 million pounds. It was launched from Kennedy Space Center
at 12:54 p.m. (EST), April 16, 1972.
(NASA photo)

Mattingly orbited the moon in Casper while Young and Duke landed the lunar module in the Cayley Plains.

The area chosen for the landing was a plain in the Descartes highlands, near the center of the moon. The landing of the Lunar Module, Orion, took place April 21, 1972 at 9:33 p.m. (EST). Orion would remain on the moon's surface for 72 hours. Young and Duke spent 51 hours in Orion and 21 hours outside on 3 separate 7-hour exploration and collection trips.

Charles Duke's formal salute early during the first extravehicular activity (EVA).
(NASA photo)

During the first EVA, Duke collects samples on the rim of Plum Crater. The Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) is in the background left. Over their three day stay, they would drive the LRV a distance of 26.7 km (about 16 miles).
(NASA photo)

On Stone Mountain during the second EVA, Duke stands beside the LRV while consulting a checklist attached to his left arm.
(NASA photo)

Duke works at front of the LRV parked in this rock field at a North Ray crater site on April 23, 1972 during the third EVA.
(NASA photo)

Duke stands near the "House Rock" during the third EVA. A Hasselblad camera is strapped to his chest, a lunar surface rake leans against a boulder, and a packet of sample bags dangles from his right hand. During the 3 EVAs, they would collect nearly 213 pounds of lunar rock and soil samples.
(NASA photo)

Duke carried a photo taken of himself and his family in their Houston backyard. He left it on the moon's surface. Young and Duke rejoined Mattingly in lunar orbit April 23, 1972.
(NASA photo)

Splashdown, 1:45 p.m., Thursday, April 27, 1972, approximately 215 miles southeast of Christmas Island in the Central Pacific.
(NASA photo)

The Command Module during recovery operations. The USS Ticonderoga is in the background.
(NASA photo)

The welcoming ceremonies on the deck of the U.S.S. Ticonderoga. Commander John W. Young is at the microphone. Behind Young are Duke (on the left) and Thomas K. Mattingly.
(NASA photo)

May 26, 1972 was named Charlie Duke Day in Lancaster, South Carolina. The day-long ceremonies included a 69-unit parade with President Nixon's brother, Edward, representing the White House.

Further Information

• NASA Biography, Charles M. Duke
• JSC Digital Image Collection
• Apollo 16 Lunar Surface Journal
• The Apollo Program, The Smithsonian