Apollo 16

The words

1. Carruthers

   George Carruthers developed Apollo 16’s ultraviolet camera at the Naval Research Laboratory. Operated by John Young on the Moon, it studied Earth’s outer atmosphere as well as stars and clouds of gas in space.

   Smithsonian: Carruthers’s lunar camera (opens a new tab)

2. Casper

   Casper was Apollo 16’s command module, piloted by Ken Mattingly. It remained in lunar orbit while Young and Duke explored the surface, then carried the reunited crew back to Earth.

   Did you know?

   Casper’s name came from the friendly cartoon ghost. NASA’s naming history links the choice to the shapeless appearance of the crew’s white suits on television.

   NASA archive: Apollo 16’s command spacecraft (opens a new tab) · Orloff: Casper’s name (opens a new tab)

3. Charles Duke

   Charles Duke was Apollo 16’s lunar module pilot. He landed with commander John Young in the Descartes region, where they used a rover to collect samples and set up scientific experiments.

   NASA archive: Apollo 16’s command spacecraft (opens a new tab)

4. Descartes

   The Descartes highlands were Apollo 16’s exploration region. Young and Duke landed there in Orion, then used three moonwalks and the rover to investigate the plains, mountain slopes and nearby craters.

   NASA: Apollo 16 at Descartes (opens a new tab)

5. Family Photo

   Duke left a photograph of his family on the Moon during Apollo 16. The image turned a family portrait into a personal memento at the Descartes exploration site.

   Did you know?

   A message on the photograph identified the Duke family as being from planet Earth. It recorded the lunar landing as April 1972.

   NASA: Duke’s family photograph (opens a new tab)

6. Heat Flow

   Young accidentally disconnected the heat-flow experiment’s cable while setting up the surface instruments. That broken link prevented this experiment from returning data, despite the work already done to deploy it.

   NASA: Apollo 16 at Descartes (opens a new tab)

7. House Rock

   House Rock was a huge boulder near North Ray Crater. Young and Duke approached it during their final moonwalk, taking photographs and collecting samples before returning toward the rover.

   Lunar Surface Journal: Apollo 16’s traverses (opens a new tab)

8. Jump Salute

   Young jumped into the air while saluting beside the American flag during Apollo 16’s first moonwalk. He and Duke took turns photographing each other, leaving a record of the moment.

   NASA: Apollo 16 at Descartes (opens a new tab)

9. Landing Delay

   Apollo 16’s landing was delayed while engineers assessed oscillations in the service module engine’s steering system. After controllers judged the problem manageable, Young and Duke continued their descent in Orion.

   NASA archive: Apollo 16’s command spacecraft (opens a new tab)

10. Mattingly

    Ken Mattingly piloted Casper in lunar orbit while Young and Duke worked on the surface. He carried out orbital science and later retrieved camera film during a spacewalk on the return journey.

    NASA archive: Apollo 16’s command spacecraft (opens a new tab)

11. North Ray

    North Ray Crater was a destination on Apollo 16’s third moonwalk. NASA’s mission account describes it as the largest crater explored by an Apollo crew; nearby boulders offered material for sampling.

    NASA: Apollo 16 at Descartes (opens a new tab)

12. Orange Juice

    A leaking drink bag soaked Duke with orange juice while he was still in lunar orbit. The sticky liquid coated his hair and the inside of his helmet, complicating preparations for surface work.

    Lunar Surface Journal: Apollo 16’s traverses (opens a new tab)

13. Orion

    Orion was Apollo 16’s lunar module. It carried Young and Duke down to Descartes and served as their base between three moonwalks before lifting them back to Mattingly in orbit.

    NASA: Apollo 16 at Descartes (opens a new tab)

14. Stone Mountain

    Young and Duke sampled Stone Mountain’s slopes during their second moonwalk. The rocks from the Cinco Craters pointed to an impact-shaped landscape, rather than the volcanic material some geologists had expected.

    Lunar Surface Journal: Apollo 16’s traverses (opens a new tab)

15. UV Camera

    UV means ultraviolet.

    Apollo 16’s camera observed Earth’s upper atmosphere, stars and nebulae from the lunar surface. It recorded both direct images and spectra, spreading light into a record that scientists could analyze.

    Did you know?

    During restoration for a 1993 display, Carruthers fitted a backup camera with the film-transport assembly returned from the Moon. Replica parts filled gaps in the reconstruction.

    Smithsonian: Carruthers’s lunar camera (opens a new tab)