Apollo 16: Journey to Descartes

The fifth successful lunar landing mission, Apollo 16 was the second of NASA’s “J” lunar missions. With extended lunar stay times and the greater mobility afforded by the lunar rover, the final three Apollo lunar landing missions greatly expanded man’s first program of lunar exploration. John Young, Charlie Duke, and Ken Mattingly executed a spectacular mission to the Descartes highlands. The landing site lies in the central lunar highlands in hilly, grooved and furrowed lurain. The mission was the first to a lunar highlands area – quite different from any location previously visited. Young and Duke explored the site during 3 EVAs, while Mattingly conducted an extensive program of scientific observation from lunar orbit.