Apollo 16 exploration of the Moon, April 1972. Panoramic montage view of NASA astronaut John W. Young with the lunar rover on the surface of the Moon during the Apollo 16 mission in April 1972. 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, at centre right) landed on the Moon five days later in the Descartes Highlands. The crew conducted three sorties (20 hours and 14 minutes) with this electric lunar roving vehicle, travelling up to 10 kilometres away. The two astronauts exploring the Moon's surface were Charles Duke (taking the photograph) and John Young. Photographed on 23 April 1972.