Apollo 16 exploration of the Moon, April 1972. Panoramic montage view of a NASA astronaut on the surface of the Moon during the Apollo 16 mission in April 1972. The astronaut appears twice in the montage because he moved as the photographs were being taken. Apollo 16 was the fifth and penultimate mission of the US Apollo space program. Apollo 16 launched on 16 April 1972. The lunar module (Orion) landed on the Moon five days later in the Descartes Highlands. The crew conducted three sorties (20 hours and 14 minutes) with the electric lunar roving vehicle (in background at upper left), travelling up to 10 kilometres away. The two astronauts exploring the Moon's surface were Charles Duke (seen here) and John Young (taking the photographs). Photographed on 21 April 1972.