Apollo 16 EVA Charts Signed by Charlie Duke

Apollo 16 EVA Charts Signed by Charlie Duke

Two EVA charts for Apollo 16, with a large gold-trimmed Apollo 16 mission patch, and a nameplate showing the mission dates and names of the crew. One chart has been signed by Charlie Duke, the Apollo 16 Lunar Module Pilot.

Apollo 16 was the fifth mission to land on the Moon and the first to explore the lunar highlands. Charlie Duke spent just under three days on the surface of the Moon with Commander, John Young, while Command Module Pilot, Ken Mattingly, remained in orbit. During this time, the astronauts conducted three Extravehicular Activities (EVA's) using the Lunar Roving Vehicle. They travelled a distance of 26.6 kilometres and collected lunar samples at 11 sites. The routes of these EVAs are marked on the charts, along with the Lunar Module landing site and various points of interest.

The Apollo 16 astronauts received extensive geological training to prepare them for analysing features and gathering samples on the lunar surface. The lunar highlands were chosen as the landing site because it gave the astronauts the opportunity to gather geologically older lunar material than previous missions. The first four Moon landings had focused on the lunar plains or “maria” which formed after the lunar highlands, due to lava from the Moon’s interior flooding low lying areas. Duke and Young collected 95 kilograms of samples during Apollo 16, which gave scientist a better understanding of how the lunar highlands formed.

Web resources

• NASA Apollo 16 Mission Page