Apollo 16 - traveling with an all-terrain vehicle between geological formations

The landing site is the Kiley Plain, which according to the researchers' assumption is of middle age. A deposit of lava that is older than the moon's crust but younger than the formations explored by the Apollo 14 and Apollo 15 pilots

• The first episode in the series - Apollo 11
• For the second episode - Apollo 12
• for the third chapter – Apollo 13
• For the fourth episode - Apollo 14
• For the fifth episode - Apollo 15

The fifth team that landed on the moon was the Apollo 16 team. The launch was on 16.4.1972 and its purpose was to carry out a series of measurements and research in the Descartes mountain area, one of the highest places on the moon. The spacecraft pilots were John Young, Charles Duke, the lander pilots, and Thomas Mattingly, the cockpit pilot. The name of the lander is Orion and the name of the command cabin is Casper. Before the launch, the astronauts entered a 3-week quarantine.

The landing site is the Kiley Plain, which according to the researchers' assumption is of middle age. A deposit of lava older than the moon's crust but younger than the formations that the Apollo 14 and Apollo 15 pilots toured. The age of these formations was estimated to be 3.5 billion years. In the Kiley plain there are slopes whose inclination is 0 6 - 0 3 and many craters, grooves and hills. To the south of the Keili Plain is the Stone Mountain and to the north of it is the Smoke Mountain. The origin of this material is probably volcanic and it is different from that found in the Cayley Plain. Lunar researchers hoped to learn about the process by which the moon's levels were formed, which occurred 4.5 billion years ago.

Young and Duke had to stay on the lunar surface for 73 hours and within the limits of this time to make 3 tours, 7 hours each, with the lunar vehicle. During this activity, they placed various research instruments, similar to those placed by their predecessors and I counted 120 kg of rocks and soil samples. The samples were taken around the rims of several craters and long strips of fragments of material ejected from these craters. One of them is Ray South - white streaks come out of it as if material was splashed due to a meteorite impact. Other craters sampled are Palmetto, Keytor, Kiva, Peleg, Spock, Rock and Stubby. All names were given by the astronauts.

Another new research device that was brought to the moon was active even after the astronauts were on their way back to Earth, it included an astronomical camera that was equipped with a spectroscope for photographing and collecting information in the ultraviolet light that examined hydrogen atoms, the solar wind and gas clouds of distant stars especially the Andromeda and Comet galaxies and also the gas present high above the lunar surface. The importance of this information is in the reception of cosmic information free from atmospheric disturbances and reception in waves that do not reach the earth because of its atmosphere.
4 grams of the Apollo 12 samples were returned to the moon to test their magnetism. If they do not pick up these features, it means that their origin is not in the moon. It is possible that these qualities were absorbed into them as soon as they arrived on Earth. The astronauts were equipped with special helmets that enabled the precise tracking of the path of the cosmic rays hitting the head. A special material incorporated into the helmets allows for accurate identification of the type of radiation and its intensity.
In addition to the lunar studies, biological experiments were also conducted. A special facility built at the University of Frankfurt, Germany called "Biostack" tested the effect of cosmic radiation on seeds of various sea plants. Bean seeds and crab eggs of a special breed. The goal of the researchers was to test the effect of radiation on creatures whose biological structure and cell structure are primitive in order to withstand various phenomena in the field of heredity. The size of this square device is 10 cm and weighs 2 kg.

Another device made it possible to test the reactions of micro-organisms exposed to the sun's ultraviolet radiation in a state of weightlessness and in a state of changes in oxygen pressure. The experiment was conducted on 60 million different micro-organisms, bacteria and viruses that were inside 3 special containers, each of which has 280 cells designed for different types of bacteria. The size of each container is that of a shoe box. In previous flights, the space scientists and astronauts were careful about bacteria so as not to contaminate the moon. Since it was discovered that the moon is biologically dead, it was decided to conduct biological experiments on this flight, but nevertheless these bacteria were not brought to the moon. They were attached to the wall of the control room.

Special photographic equipment allows you to check the phenomena of cosmic radiation as they are seen by the eyes of the astronauts. When Young and Duke were on the surface of the moon, Mattingly made a comprehensive map of the moon with the help of two powerful cameras.

After the Apollo 15 pilots had an irregular heartbeat, it was decided to equip Young and Duke with "anti-arrhythmia", a substance that regulates the heartbeat. This medicine was part of a complex of medicines that were in the medical file of the Apollo 16 pilots.

16.4 - the first day of the flight

Apollo 16 was launched on this day. After the launch, the spacecraft entered Earth orbit, orbiting the Earth for 2 hours and 24 minutes. When everything is in order, the signal is given and the spacecraft directs itself to a lunar flight path. The orbit of the earth was in a path whose distance from the ground is 174-178 km. The original launch date was 17.3. Malfunctions in the space suits, lander batteries and navigation engines led to the delay of the launch. A leak in the fuel tanks of the navigation engines required the spacecraft to be returned to the "Moon Shipyard" to replace the engines. This was the first time that a launch vehicle was returned for repairs. A week before the launch, a nitrogen leak was discovered and a few minutes before the launch, a technical problem arose. The faults were fixed and did not interfere with preparations for the launch.

17.4. - The second day of the flight

The command cabin was attached to the lander and the final stage of the launch vehicle was headed for a collision with the moon. The peeling paint on one of the sides of the lander led to a 24-hour early inspection of the lunar rover. Young, Duke and Mingley observed the flight of glowing particles from the side of the lander. It was clear that the wall paint was peeling. The importance of this color is that it serves as an insulator from the sun's radiation on the surface of the moon. If the launch was delayed by 24 hours. The schedule would have moved forward, the sun's rays would have hit the lander at a more obtuse angle and overheated it. There was concern that the source of the malfunction was a leak in one of the fuel tanks. To determine the nature of the malfunction and repair it if necessary, Young and Duke entered the lander with a television camera to allow the space engineers to also check the malfunction and found that the system was working properly. All in all, the insulating sheath of one of the sides split and broke off.

The precise guidance of the spacecraft allowed the cancellation of a correction in the flight path planned for that day. The astronauts slept for 8 hours and then photographed the Earth using the spectroscopic camera.

18.4 - the third day of the flight

The spacecraft's flight path was corrected by running the engine for a few seconds. The Orion beast vehicle whose exterior paint continued to peel off was inspected again for an hour. On their way back to the control room, Young and Duke noticed a slight flaw in the connection system and fixed it for 45 minutes. Later the navigation system was silent and it was impossible to change the position of the spacecraft in relation to the flight path. This glitch has also been fixed. If they had failed to fix the fault, the backup system would have been activated and the landing on the moon would have been cancelled.

19.4 - The fourth day of the flight

A final check was conducted on the spacecraft's systems. The flight path was fixed again and the crew fell asleep for several hours. When they woke up, the maneuvers that put the spacecraft into orbit around the moon were performed. For this purpose, the engine was started for 6 minutes and 15 seconds. Apollo 16 circled the moon in an orbit whose distance from the ground is 316 - 108 km. For more than two hours Duke wore a special helmet on his head to study the flashes. Every time he noticed a flash of light, he reported its direction and strength to the space explorers. At the same time the flash was filmed on top of a special crack in the helmet.

20.4 - the fifth day of the flight

The spacecraft's flight path around the moon was changed for the landing. Its distance from the ground was 108-19 km. The astronauts fell asleep for several hours and then began preparations for landing. 5 hours and 10 minutes before landing (40 minutes before the planned time) Duke and Yang entered the lander and conducted a final inspection. Two faults were detected. The operation of one of the antennas went wrong and the astronauts' voices were heard in fragments and a defect was discovered in one of the fuel tanks. These faults were not serious and in time the lander was disconnected from the command post. The detachment was made on the hidden side of the moon.

25 minutes before landing, Thomas Mattingly prepared to raise the cockpit's flight path, but he encountered problems with the cockpit's engine. This situation resulted in the landing being delayed by 10 hours. All the while the command cabin and the lander were orbiting the moon next to each other. The distance between the two spaceships varies between 250-100 meters. All the while there were frantic consultations between the space center and the company that built the command cabin (the Grumman company) and MIT. It turned out that the fault was not in the engine itself, but in its control system. Before detaching the lander, the third stage of the launch vehicle hit the lunar surface. the shocks created by the impact were picked up by the seismographs placed there.

21.4 - the sixth day of the flight, the first day on the moon
The consultations and experiments conducted in the control center bore fruit and it finally became clear that the engine and the guidance system are normal and fit for operation. The source of the fault is a defect in an electrical circuit. Mattingly received a message from the guidance system that the engine was not fixed in the ignition position, but was swinging to the right or left and in fact it was fixed. This message required the cancellation of the elevation of the command cabin's trajectory and the postponement of the landing by 6 hours.

When it became clear that the malfunction was not serious and did not pose any risk to the astronauts' lives, a green light was turned on and the lander carried out the landing as planned. If the engine or its guidance mechanism were to break down, the landing would be cancelled. The lander would connect to the command cabin and serve as an engine for returning to Israel.

Young and Duke landed 200 meters northwest of the landing site. The delays led to the selection of another landing site and the shortening of the journey on the moon by 18 hours. The space scientists decided to cancel the third tour to the Smoky Mountain and Ray North Crater. These places have a lower priority than the sites planned for the first tour and the second tour. After further consultations, an opinion was formed to carry out the lunar plan in full. The time spent by the Apollo pilots in lunar orbit is shortened from two days to a day. Because of this, a change in the orbit of the spacecraft was canceled for the purpose of photographing another area on the surface of the moon. Mattingly's flight path around the moon is slightly different and the distances of the flight path were 123-98 km.

After a 14-hour rest, the landing party pilots went on their first tour. Young came out first, followed by Duke. Their first steps were not captured on television because of a malfunction in one of the antennas. Only after a mobile antenna was placed on the lunar surface did images begin to be taken from the landing site. The pictures were of excellent quality. The first tour was in the flag crater and Spock crater

Duke and Young raised the US flag and only then placed the various research instruments. in a general inspection of the area. It turned out that the landing was 3 meters away from a crater with a diameter of 15 meters. If they landed in a crater it would be difficult to get out of it. They might have remained stuck on the moon without being able to return to Earth. The rear wheel of the "rover" lunar vehicle broke down and after some time it was repaired. One of his batteries looked half dead but it suddenly started working. Equipment storage hatches outside the spacecraft were opened only after receiving advice from the control center.
The instruments placed on the moon are:
1. Seismograph.
2. Magnetomer.
3. A device for measuring the internal temperature of the moon to verify or contradict the data obtained from the research instruments of Apollo 15. These instruments found that the internal temperature is much higher than estimated. It is possible that at the landing site of Apollo 15 there is a higher internal heat as a result of the accumulation of radioactive materials.
4. A chain of geophones to absorb the shocks of a series of explosions that Yang later caused with a grenade launcher. 4 grenades are thrown.
5. Aluminum sheet to absorb particles coming from the sun.
6. Ultraviolet photography telescope. At first they photographed the hydrogen halo of the Earth and the horizon of the Moon to see if the hydrogen gas emitted from the depths of the Moon reaches different points in the sky. The photographic film was returned to Earth.
7. Cosmic ray detector - this detector is made of 4 panels mounted on one of the sides of the lander. Each panel is made of different combinations of materials that are sensitive to cosmic radiation. 3 panels were exposed throughout the flight. The fourth tablet was revealed on the moon. Before taking off from the moon, the plates were packed and returned to Earth for microscopic examination. The purpose of this instrument is to find out what the mysterious shower of particles coming from the Milky Way is.

All the devices were powered by a nuclear generator with a lifespan of one year. Young and Duke made a 4.2 km journey with the help of the "rover" while collecting and collecting soil samples using digging tools and automatic drills powered by solar batteries installed in them.

22.4 - The seventh day of flight, the second day on the moon

To place the thermometers Duoc drilled two holes 2.5 meters deep. After placing the device, Yang's foot ran into the cable connecting the measuring device to the transmitter and tore it. The astronauts tried to reconnect the cable but failed and this device was out of order.
Their first day on the moon was difficult. Duke's heart rate reached 120 in the first three hours and increased to 150 when he drilled into the lunar soil and placed the devices. In the last four hours, his heart once beat at a rate of more than 100 beats per minute. Young and Duke complained about the sunlight blinding them. 17.5 hours were spent resting, eating and preparing for the second tour. This tour was delayed by an hour because the astronauts fell asleep an hour late. At that time, technicians in the control center tried to develop different methods to connect the broken cable, but were unsuccessful.

On their second tour, Young and Duke worked on the Stone Mountain (505 meters high). They patrolled between craters and on slippery slopes in search of volcanic bedrock. On this tour, they collected 25 kg of soil samples, including green and white ones, and discovered white dirt under the gray layer. Duke stumbled as he climbed, managed to get up and continued his work. At Stone Mountain, the "rover" lost its inclinometer, one of the rear fenders, part of the drive system of the rear wheels and the navigation system broke down almost completely. Young and Duke returned to the lander with the help of the tracks left by the "rover". Mattingly, who had been circling the moon all that time, was the first to see lava clotted on the far side of the moon.

23.4 - the eighth day of the flight, the third day on the moon
Young and Duke extended their tour by 23 minutes. A total of 11 km have passed. They returned to the lander for a 16.5 hour rest. The third tour is shortened from 7 to 5 hours. The astronauts toured the Smoky Mountain in the Ray North Crater (150 meters deep) and the Stone Mountain slope made of steps. The climb up the slope whose inclination is 12 m was not difficult. On the other hand, the descent involved the danger of constant slipping.
Young and Duke worked feverishly in their bid to leave as early as possible for their last tour. While Yang photographed the celestial bodies, Duke repaired the lunar rover. Most of the time they were in the stone mountain, they climbed to a height of 300 meters while collecting stones. They also peered into a deep crater whose bottom they did not see due to its great depth.

Blocks of rocks 4-5 meters high each were seen on the television screens in the control center. In the craters in the north of the Descartes Kalis region. These rocks are of the breccia type. One of the rocks resembles a meteorite found in Canada. The magnetic field here is higher than would be expected based on previous measurements and research. The seismographs showed that the upper layer of dirt in the Kiley plateau is 30 meters thick.
On their way back, the rear panel of the vehicle fell off and the crew members were left exposed to the spray of moon dust. Yang and Duke toured the moon for 5 hours and 40 minutes. In total they worked 20 hours and 14 minutes. They traveled a distance of 27 km in the three tours. On the last tour they reached a speed of 17.7 km/h. 5 hours and 43 minutes were devoted to rest and preparations for takeoff. While they were walking on the lunar soil, Mattingly changed the flight path of the command cabin in preparation for docking with the lander.

24.4 - ninth day of flight, fourth day on the moon

For the first 3 hours and 26 minutes of this day the lander was still on the moon. These were part of the hours of rest and preparations for takeoff. One hour and 50 minutes after takeoff, the lander attached itself to the control cabin. The television camera left on the moon broadcast the takeoff to Earth. Immediately after docking, the astronauts transferred all their findings to the control room and entered it. The three astronauts fell asleep for several hours. After that, they made all the necessary arrangements for disconnecting the lander from the command cabin and detonating it on the moon.

25.4 - the tenth day of the flight

The lander did not crash on the moon. Duke forgot to activate its autopilot and as a result the lander entered lunar orbit. She stayed in this situation for 250 days. Duke's mistake was caused by the new schedule that was broadcast to him and his colleagues. This plan confused him. A small satellite like the one launched by Apollo 15 was launched from the spacecraft. This satellite entered orbit around the moon. Its lifespan is one year.
The spacecraft's engine was activated for 2 minutes and 40 seconds. The spacecraft was detached from its lunar orbit and moved to a flight path that brought it back to Earth. At the end of this series of operations the astronauts fell asleep for several hours. The navigation engines were turned on for 8 seconds to make a slight correction to the flight path. Mattingly worked for an hour outside the spacecraft. He returned photographic films from the lavatory cameras to the control room and exposed the box of microorganisms to the sunlight. All the while he is tied to the spaceship with a cable that is 9 meters long. The experiments with the flashes of light continued on this day as well.

26.4 - the eleventh day of the flight

Young, Duke and Mingley spent the day sleeping. In the press conference they held, their fatigue from the journey was clearly evident. An alarm signal appeared on the spacecraft's control panel and concerns were expressed in the control center about malfunctions in the navigation system. All efforts to find out the source of the problem were in vain and finally it was decided to avoid any further action and just monitor the situation as it is.

27.6 - the twelfth day for the flight
Apollo 16 landed near the Christmas Islands. The spacecraft reached the atmosphere at a speed greater than that of the previous Apollo spacecraft. The angle of entry into the atmosphere was greater and the passage through it was 15 minutes. 2 times more than in the previous flights.

The health status of the astronauts after the flight

During the flight, the astronauts lost 3.5-2.5 kg of their weight and absorbed cosmic radiation originating from the explosion that occurred at the same time on the Sun. The Apollo 15 pilots adapted to terrestrial conditions only 13 days after landing, while the Apollo 16 pilots only needed 3 days. A blood test conducted for them indicated that the number of white blood cells is normal. In the previous flights there was a greater count of the white globules. Another interesting phenomenon was discovered later in the tests when it became clear that the astronauts' hearts lost about 20% of their capacity to work under load. A normal phenomenon in astronauts after their return from a journey in space.

Moon satellite
In the 425th lap, the satellite crashed on the far side of the moon. It is the difference between the Praslanion - the lower 5 km and the peaks of the mountains - that probably led to its shattering.