remained aboard the Ticonderoga until 17:30 GMT on 29 April, when they were Lunar dust [94][95] The landing delay caused by the malfunction in the CSM's main engine necessitated significant modifications to the mission schedule. Scheduled Two minutes before launch, they activated the "Master Arm" switch and then the "Abort Stage" button, causing small explosive charges to sever the ascent stage from the descent stage, with cables connecting the two severed by a guillotine-like mechanism. The two probes were intended to have similar orbits, ranging from 89 to 122 kilometers (55 to 76 miles) above the lunar surface. One reason why Descartes had been selected was that it was visually different from previous Apollo landing sites, but rocks from there proved to be closely related to those from the Fra Mauro Formation, Apollo 14's landing site. photographed items of interest, and collected lunar samples. [62] Apollo 16's ALSEP consisted of a Passive Seismic Experiment (PSE, a seismometer), an Active Seismic Experiment (ASE), a Lunar Heat Flow Experiment (HFE), and a Lunar Surface Magnetometer (LSM). two hours later. ", "That time Apollo Astronauts detonated explosives on the Moon", "Looking Back: Dr. George Carruthers and Apollo 16 Far Ultraviolet Camera/Spectrograph", "Countdown Begins For Apollo 16 Moon Expedition", "Apollo 16: Day One Part Three: Second Earth Orbit and Translunar Injection", "Apollo 16: Day One Part Four: Transposition, Docking and Ejection", "Apollo 16: Day 1 Part 5: Settling into Translunar Coast", "Apollo 16: Day Four Part One Arrival at the Moon", "Apollo 16: Day Two Part Two: LM Entry and Checks", "Electrophoresis Demonstration on Apollo 16", "Apollo 16: Day Three Part One: ALFMED Experiment", "Apollo Light Flash Investigations (AP009)", "Apollo 16: Day Three Part Two: Lunar Module Activation and Checkout", "Apollo 16: Day Four Part Two; Lunar Orbit Insertion, Rev One and Rev Two", "Apollo 16: Day Four Part Three: Descent Orbit Insertion, Revs Three to Nine", "Apollo 16: Day Five Part Two: Lunar Module Undocking and Descent Preparation; Revs 11 and 12", "Experiment Operations During Apollo EVAs", Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Directorate, "Apollo 15 Mission Summary: Mountains of the Moon", "Geology Station 4 at the Stone Mountain Cincos", "Day Five Part Five Clearance for PDI Again and Landing, Revs 15 and 16", "Apollo 16: Day 9 Part 2 LM Jettison and Trans Earth Injection", "Apollo 16, Day 10 Part 2 EVA and Housekeeping", "Microbial Ecology Evaluation Device (MEED)", "Apollo 16: Day 11 Part One: Geology, Experiments and Guidance Fault Investigation", "Apollo 16: Day 11 Part Two: Press Conference, Experiments and House-Keeping", "Apollo 16: Day 12 Entry and Splashdown", "Biographical Data: Thomas K. Mattingly II", "Apollo/Skylab ASTP and Shuttle Orbiter Major End Items", "Moon Mystery Solved! was Spook Crater. [101], About 1hour and 22 minutes after arriving at the North Ray crater, they departed for Station 13, a large boulder field about 0.5km (0.31mi) from North Ray. A hole was blown in the hangar roof 250 feet above; about 40 windows in the hangar were shattered. The CSM/LM docking, light colored particles were noticed coming from the LM area. Several rendezvous sequence maneuvers were required before docking could occur to a flight azimuth of 72.034. [28], Apollo 16's backup crew consisted of Fred W. Haise Jr. (commander, who had flown on Apollo 13), Stuart A. Roosa (CMP, who had flown on Apollo 14) and Edgar D. Mitchell (LMP, also Apollo 14). [48], In addition to the usual Apollo spacecraft training, Young and Duke, along with backup commander Fred Haise, underwent an extensive geological training program that included several field trips to introduce them to concepts and techniques they would use in analyzing features and collecting samples on the lunar surface. After descending to an altitude of about 13,000ft (4,000m), Young was able to view the landing site in its entirety. [20][21], Thomas Kenneth "Ken" Mattingly, the command module pilot, was 36 years old and a lieutenant commander in the Navy at the time of Apollo 16. a 24.35-second service propulsion system maneuver was performed to reach the in aeronautical engineering from Auburn University in 1958, and There was less certainty regarding the Descartes Formation, as it was not clear which if any of the rocks came from there. Overlaying the shield is a gold NASA vector, orbiting the Moon. 15 to 18 db drop in signal strength. Previous Apollo expeditions, including Apollo 14 and Apollo 15, had obtained samples of pre-mare lunar material, likely thrown from the highlands by meteorite impacts. In order to improve Young's and Duke's sleep schedule, the third and final moonwalk of the mission was trimmed from seven hours to five. A short distance from the LM, Duke placed a photograph of his family and an Air Force commemorative medallion on the surface. conditions encountered during ascent were 50.7 knots at 257 from true north at Young descended the ladder and, upon setting foot on the lunar surface, became the ninth human to walk on the Moon. The S-IVB engine shut down at Illinois, Mattingly was 36 years old at the time of the Apollo 16 mission. [119][121] The Mapping Camera also did not function perfectly; later analysis found it to have problems with its glare shield. flotation attitude, but was successfully returned to the normal flotation According to Duke, he and Young chose "Orion" for the LM because they wanted something connected with the stars. [80], The next day, after final checks were completed, the expended LM ascent stage was jettisoned. Nevertheless, no Apollo mission had actually visited the lunar highlands. This was done without problems. [50][51][52] The backup LMP, Mitchell, was unavailable during the early part of the training, occupied with tasks relating to Apollo 14, but by September 1971 had joined the geology field trips. 58.1 n mi. the LM and the cabin was repressurized at 126:04:40. the Cape Kennedy launch area was experiencing fair weather resulting from a On 21 July 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the Moon. [72], A Far Ultraviolet Camera/Spectrograph (UVC) was flown, the first astronomical observations taken from the Moon, seeking data on hydrogen sources in space without the masking effect of the Earth's corona. demonstrated. Despite entering the LM 40 minutes ahead of schedule, they completed preparations only 10 minutes early due to numerous delays in the process. Three of the panels were left uncovered during the voyage to the Moon, with the fourth uncovered by the crew early in the EVA. [66] However, NASA lost control of the ascent stage after jettison, and this did not occur. Apollo 8 (December 21-27, 1968) was the first crewed spacecraft to leave low Earth orbit and the first human spaceflight to reach the Moon.The crew orbited the Moon ten times without landing, and then departed safely back to Earth. Two significant command and service module problems - one en route to the moon and one in lunar orbit - contributed to a delay in landing and a subsequent early termination of the mission by one day. countdown was picked up at T-28 hours at 03:54:00 GMT on 15 April. They hoped scientific output from the Apollo 16 mission would provide an answer. This training helped Young and Duke, while on the Moon, quickly realize that the expected volcanic rocks were not there, even though the geologists in Mission Control initially did not believe them. It arrived at 10:30 GMT on 12 May. [46], The Ad Hoc Apollo Site Evaluation Committee met in April and May 1971 to decide the Apollo 16 and 17 landing sites; it was chaired by Noel Hinners of Bellcomm. Muehlberger. 08:25:47 p.m. EST on 23 April) at 175:31:47.9 and was televised. the total time spent outside the LM was 20 hours 14 minutes 14 seconds, the television picture, the source of the particles appeared to be a growth of Apollo 11 - Landed 20 July 1969. These culminated with a problem with the spaceship's main engine that resulted in a six-hour delay in the Moon landing as NASA managers contemplated having the astronauts abort the mission and return to Earth, before deciding the problem could be overcome. With Apollo 16, he became the second American, after Jim Lovell, to fly in space four times. [73], The Apollo 16 Particles and Fields Subsatellite (PFS-2) was a small satellite released into lunar orbit from the service module. It was the second of Apollo's "J missions", with an extended stay on the lunar surface, a focus on science, and the use of the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV). There was no evidence that showed that Stone Mountain was volcanic. [69] A HFE flew, and was successfully deployed, on Apollo 17. in aeronautical terrain, there was no response from the rear wheels when full throttle was One change that was made was the restoration of four retrorockets to the S-IC first stage, meaning there would be a total of eight, as on Apollo 14 and earlier. [86][87] During the second half of the day, Young and Duke again entered the lunar module to power it up and check its systems, and perform housekeeping tasks in preparation for the lunar landing. While over the far side, the SPS burned for 6minutes and 15 seconds, braking the spacecraft into an orbit with a low point (pericynthion) of 58.3 and a high point (apocynthion) of 170.4 nautical miles (108.0 and 315.6km, respectively). [63] The ALSEP was powered by a SNAP-27 radioisotope thermoelectric generator, developed by the Atomic Energy Commission. [37] The insignia was designed from ideas originally submitted by the crew of the mission,[38] by Barbara Matelski of the graphics shop at the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston. Between Astronaut-named feature, Apollo 15 site. With the assistance of orbital photography obtained on the Apollo 14 mission, the Descartes site was determined to be safe enough for a crewed landing. At 18:00 GMT on 1 May, it departed for North Highland plains. During these trips, they visited and provided scientific descriptions of geologic features they were likely to encounter. approximately one year.[1]. These three astronautsFrank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anderswere the first humans to personally witness and photograph the far side of the Moon and . seismometer, and 593 n mi from the Apollo 15 seismometer. usable and safe; therefore, the vehicles were separated again and the mission velocity of 25,605.1 ft/sec. traveled in the lunar rover vehicle was 6.2 n mi (11.4 km), vehicle drive time After two orbits, the rocket's third stage reignited for just over five minutes, propelling the craft towards the Moon at about 35,000km/h (22,000mph). . communicators (CAPCOMs) for the mission were Major Donald Herod Peterson (USAF), Young and Duke entered the lunar module through the docking tunnel connecting it with the command module to inspect its systems, at which time they did not spot any major issues. inflight electrophoresis demonstration commenced on schedule at 025:05 and was at an inclination of -110. the command module computer received an indication that an inertial measurement that deployed from Apollo 15 was deployed at 196:02:09 during the 62nd prior to the mission was demonstrated. The winds at 530 feet above the launch site measured 64.2 by 40.1 n mi. Look for the largest nearby crater, Theophilus. Just over three hours before splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, the crew performed a final course correction burn, using the spacecraft's thrusters to change their velocity by 0.43m/s (1.4ft/s). Ignition of the undocked for 81 hours 27 minutes 47 seconds. in the center is Spook and to the upper left is Flag Crater. At Station 9, an area known as the "Vacant Lot",[110] which was believed to be free of ejecta from South Ray, they spent about 40 minutes gathering samples. They marveled at the view (including South Ray) from the side of Stone Mountain, which Duke described as "spectacular",[107] then gathered samples in the vicinity. Becoming an astronaut in 1962 as part of the second group to be selected by NASA, he flew in Gemini 3 with Gus Grissom in 1965, becoming the first American not of the Mercury Seven to fly in space. [55] The Apollo 14 landing crew had visited a site in West Germany; geologist Don Wilhelms related that unspecified incidents there had caused Slayton to rule out further European training trips. [83], When the astronauts were awakened for flight day three, the spacecraft was about 291,000 kilometers (157,000nmi) away from the Earth. overpressurization. At the request of Young and Duke, the moonwalk was extended by ten minutes. Twenty-five minutes after departing the Vacant Lot, they arrived at the final stop of the day, halfway between the ALSEP site and the LM. To minimize the transfer of lunar dust from the LM cabin into the CSM, Young and Duke cleaned the cabin before opening the hatch separating the two spacecraft. delayed in order to provide the crew with a well-deserved sleep period. 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