OTD in Space – April 16: Apollo 16 Launches to the Moon

On April 16, 1972, Apollo 16 launched to the moon! Apollo 16 was NASA's fifth lunar landing and the penultimate mission of the entire Apollo program. [‘On This Day in Space’ Video Series on Space.com]

Three NASA astronauts were on board: John Young, the commander, Ken Mattingly, the command module pilot, and Charlie Duke, the lunar module pilot. They lifted off from Kennedy Space Center on a Saturn V rocket and spent three days cruising to the moon. After orbiting the moon for about a day, Young and Duke took the lunar module down to the surface while Ken Mattingly stayed behind in the command module. They landed in the lunar highlands to look for volcanic rocks, but they didn't find any. They collected plenty of other moon rocks, though, and they brought more than 200 pounds back to Earth.