Happy Moon Landing Anniversary, Apollo 16!

Photograph of John W. Young on the MoonPicture it. Landing on a cold, desolate, and inhospitable surface that is at once familiar and completely alien. A handful of others have gone before you, but nothing can compare to the vast expanse that awaits you. This is what the crew of the Apollo 16 – John Young, Charles Duke, and Ken Mattingly- must have felt upon their arrival on the lunar landscape. April 21st marks the 43rd anniversary of the Apollo 16 moon landing, the fifth mission to land on the moon and the first to land in the highlands.

Here are few fun facts about this mission:

  • One of the objectives of the mission was for the crew to test the lunar rover in Grand Prix-style racing feats, which you can watch online courtesy of NASA.
  • Duke placed a photograph of his family near one of the rover sites. Due to the nature of the moon’s climate, the picture will never rust or fade, and it will remain there forever!
  • In 2006, an 11 year old boy found a piece of the booster rocket that launched Apollo 16 to space. The metallic fragment had washed up on the shore near his house following Hurricane Ernesto. He returned the debris to NASA, and in exchange he was given a full behind-the-scenes tour and VIP seating to watch the final space shuttle launch!

You can commemorate this historic event with some marvelous Moon activities at home:

Don’t forget to stop by your nearest library branch to find these books for your budding astronaut: “The Moon” by Melanie Chrismer or “The Story of Astronomy and Space” by Louie Stowell.

You can also join us for our next after hours Party with the Stars on Friday, May 13 from 8-10 pm.

Sources: Wikipedia, Apollo 16NASA, Apollo Missions and Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, Apollo 16 (AS-511)

Photo credit: By Charlie Duke (NASA) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons