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LOCATIONDescartes Highlands
LAT-8.97°
LON15.50°
DISTANCE TRAVELED26.7 km
DAYS ACTIVE3
26.7
KM TRAVELED
TOTAL DISTANCE
16.59 mi
3
DAYS
SURFACE OPERATIONS
1,800
PHOTOS
IMAGES CAPTURED
96
SAMPLES
COLLECTED
210
KG
ROVER MASS
463 lbs
18 km/h
TOP SPEED
MAXIMUM VELOCITY
Apollo 16 Lunar Roving Vehicle is a moon rover by NASA. Landed April 21, 1972. Operating at Descartes Highlands. Has traveled 26.7 km.
ABOUT APOLLO 16 LUNAR ROVING VEHICLE
The Apollo 16 Lunar Roving Vehicle carried astronauts John Young and Charles Duke across the Descartes Highlands during three EVAs. Young famously drove the LRV in a “Grand Prix” demonstration for the television camera, reaching speeds of 18 km/h. Despite a front-steering failure, the crew successfully navigated 26.7 km of terrain. Their geological findings disproved the hypothesis that the highland region was volcanic, instead revealing it was formed by massive ancient impacts.
KEY DISCOVERIES
- Descartes Highlands found to be impact breccias, not volcanic
- Overturned volcanic origin hypothesis for highland terrain
- Far UV observations of Earth geocorona and deep space
- Collected 95.8 kg of lunar samples
SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS (5)
Color television camera
Lunar Communications Relay Unit
16mm data acquisition camera
Navigation system
Far UV camera/spectrograph (first astronomical observatory on Moon)
SPACECRAFT SPECIFICATIONS
Wheels4
Mass210 kg (463 lbs)
Dimensions3.1m long, 1.8m wide (deployed)
Top Speed18 km/h
PowerTwo 36V silver-zinc batteries (240W)
CommunicationsS-band high-gain antenna, color TV camera, ground-commanded steering
Design Life78 hours total driving
Landing DateApril 21, 1972
Mission EndApril 23, 1972
ProgramApollo