Introduction

The Apollo 16 mission to the Moon's surface is are very infrequent. For example, an object larger
expected to be launched :from Cape Kennedy on than birdseed would strike the landing site only
16 April 1972 and to land a :few days later in the once every :few years. But because erosion is so slow
highlands region o:f the Moon, near the crater on the Moon, the craters produced millions o:f years
Descartes. A sketch o:f the :front side o:f the Moon ago are still preserved and appear as seen in photo­
is shown in figure 1 and the location o:f the land­ graphs throughout this guidebook. The mecha­
ing site is shown in relation to other sites. This nisms o:f erosion, the process by which rocks and
landing site is extremely important :from the view­ soil are removed :from a particular spot, are very
point o:f lunar science. It will give the astronauts different on the Earth and the Moon. Most terres­
their first chance to collect rocks in the lunar high­ trial erosion is the result o:f running water. Most
lands, believed by some scientists to be the oldest lunar erosion is the result o:f impacting objects and
region on the Moon, and also to study and collect t.he resulting craters destroy previously existing
new volcanic rocks on the Moon. These rocks along ones.
with those already collected may provide the key Since the first manned lunar landing, Apollo 11,
with which to understand the early history o:f the in July 1969, significant improvements in both
Moon. They may also provide some new :facts on equipment and procedures have increased dramati­
the history o:f our solar system and o:f the Earth. cally the eapabilities o:f Apollo 16 over those o:f
The actual surface on which the Lunar Module earlier missions. Total duration o:f the mission has
or LM* will land is everywhere pock-marked by increased to a planned time o:f about 121;2 days and
craters o:f various sizes. The smallest craters known a maximum o:f 16 days. Actual time :for the LM
are less than 1/1000 inch across; the largest exceed to remain on the lunar surface has doubled; it is
50 miles. Some craters are very old (several billion now planned to be 73 hours. The amount o:f time
years) but most were produced during the past spent by the astronauts on the lunar surface out­
:few million years when objects :from space struck side the LM, which has become known as Extra­
the Moon. At velocities o:f 8 to 20 miles per second, vehicular Activity or EVA, has more than doubled
these objects possess very high energy--even more to a planned 21 hours. The EVA time will be spent
than an equivalent mass o:f TNT! Such objects are in three periods o:f 7 hours' duration. The weight
still hitting the Moon. And the Earth, also. You of the scientific equipment that will be used in
can look into the sky at night and see "shooting lunar orbit has increased :from 250 pounds to 1,050
stars," evidence that such impacts are still taking pounds. The weight o:f the scientific equipment to
place on the Moon. Our atmosphere protects us. be landed on the lunar surface has increased :from
(These objects burn in the atmosphere because o:f 510 pounds to about 1,200 pounds. And finally, the
the high temperatures caused by :friction.) But astronauts will have with them :for the second time
what about the astronauts on the Moon where a small, four-wheeled vehicle :for travel over the
there's no protective atmosphere? Although the Moon's surfaee. It is termed Rover and can carry
craters are still being produced, there is no danger two astronauts, equipment, and rocks.
to the astronauts because collisions with the Moon A summary of major events :for the entire
Apollo 16 mission is shown in Table 1. Scientific
activities w'hile the spacecraft is in orbit around
*Abbreviations and acronyms are very useful in situa­
tions where time is limited, such as a mission to the Moon's
the Earth consist mainly in photographing the
surface. Common ones are noted in this book where first Earth with film that is sensitive to ultraviolet
used. An extensive list is given at the end of the text. (uv) radiation. The uv photography will be con-

1
FIGURE 1.-Front side of the Moon. This side always faces the Earth. Shown here are locations of the previous Apollo
landings (circles) and of the impacts on the Moon of spent S-IVB stages (diamonds) and LM ascent stages
(squares). The numbers in the symbols are the mission numbers. The sound waves created in the Moon by the
impacts travel through the Moon; they are used to study the interior of the Moon. NASA PHOTO S-72-16338.

2
r f

tinued during the journey to the Moon a.nd pic­

tures will be obtained at va.rious distances from
the Earth. Studies of these uv photos will help us
interpret similar da.ta :for other planets. We cur­
rently have such photos o:f Mars and Venus. It is
likely that most of the exploration of other planets
during the next century will be done remotely by
highly sophisticated robot space probes, carrying
with them ad . vanced computers that will be able to
solve complicated problems. These will be neces­ GROUND TRACK

sary because of the great distances involved. Do

APOLLO 16 CSM
you realize that the time needed. for light to travel
to Jupiter and back to Earth is about 1% hours�
This is the time needed to send and receive radio
messages. A message to Pluto and back would take
about 12 hours.
FIGURE 2.-0rhit and ground track of Apollo 16. Because
During the journey to the Moon and before the
the ·Moon rotates, the ground tra·ck is different for each
landing, one of the spent stages of the l'O('.lrets that revolution of the OSM.
were used to lift the spacecraft from the Earth,
and designated S-IVB, will be crashed into the
Moon. The sound waves generated by the S-IVB lie on the Moon's surface beneath the orbiting
impact tra.vel through the Moon and will be de­ CSM. An extensive set of photographs will be
tected by sensitive receivers (seismometers) now obtained. The pilot will observe a.nd photograph
operating at the Apollo 12, 14 and 15 sites. (This many features on the Moon never before availa.ble
experiment is discussed more fully later in this to astronauts.
guidebook.) The other two astronauts descend to the surface
Shortly after placing their spacecraft in orbit of the Moon in the LM, illustrated in figure 3.
about the Moon, the astronauts separate it into two The LM has two parts, a descent stage and an
parts. One part, the combined Command and Serv­ ascent stage. The descent stage contains a rocket
ice Modules (CSM) , remains in lunar orbit while necessary to land both stages, a four-
eno-ine
o ' fuel
the other part, the Lunar Module (LM) , descends wheeled battery-powered vehicle to be used on the
to the surface. Moon, water and oxygen, and scientific equipment
One astronaut remains in the CSM and performs to be left on the Moon when the astronauts return
many scientific experiments. These orbital experi­ to Earth. The other part, the ascent stage, contains
ments will obtain data over a large pa.rt of both the following items: ( 1) equipment for communi­
front and back sides of the Moon because the path cations with the Earth and with the CSM, (2)
of the point directly beneath the spacecraft, termed navigational equipment, (3) a computer, (4) food,
ground track, is different for each revolution of oxygen, and other life-support supplies, and (5)
the spacecmft. See figure 2. Notice that the orbit another rocket engine and fuel needed to leave the
of the CSM is not parallel to the equator. If the Moon and rendezvous with the CSM. All three
Moon did not rotate about its axis, the ground astronauts return to Earth in the Command
track would change very little on eaeh successive Module.
revolution of the CSM. However, the Moon does \Vhen the astronauts leave the LM, a process
rotate slowly about its axis. It completes one full appropriately termed egress and shown in figure 4,
revolution every 28 Earth-days and therefore the they must wear a suit that protects them from t�e
ground track is different for eaeh CSM revolution. Moon's high vacuum. This suit is illustrated m
Several of these orbital experiments will meas­ figure 5. Although it was designed to allow free­
ure the approximate chemical composition of the dom of movement, it still restricts considerably
Moon's surface materials. Othevs a.re intended to the motion of the astronauts. An example may be
measure the va.riations of gmvity and of the mag­ useful. Think how difficult it is to run, chop wood,
netic field around the Moon. A laser altimeter will or work outdoors on an extremely cold day in
be used to obtain precise elevations of feat.ures that winter when you wear many layers of clothes.

454-BBB 0 - -
72 2

__ ,
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II
I

DOCKING WINDOW

OVERHEAD HATCH
RENDEZVOUS
RADAR ANTENNA ---+-> �v/-...... DOCKING
TARGET
���r�- VHF
ANTENNA
DOCKING
LIGHTS - ��-�
......
THRUST
CHAMBER
ASSEMBLY
CLUSTER (4)

lr.H,..,....,/"\1. ... PLUME

DEFLECTOR (4)

DOCKING LIGHT

MESA RTG
FUEL
CASK(2)

\�-- LANDING
GEAR

EGRESS
PLATFORM
LANDING
PROBE (3)
FIGURE 3.-Th e Lunar Module (LM). The sha;ded portion, the descent .stage, r emains on the MOI()Ill when the arstro nauts
leave in thJe ascent stage to rend.ezvous with the OM and return to IDarth. S'cientific eqUipment if! stXJ•red in the
Mesa.

4
r

LM PILOT COMMANDER

\----
HAMMER

CHRONOGRAPH
70mm CAMERA WI WATCHBAND

20 BAG
DISPENSER

SCOOP

FIGURE 5.-Astronant suit and equipment. The suit pre­

vents exposure of the astronaut to the 'Moon's vacuum.
It incorporates many improvements' over the suiits used
on early Apollo flights. Sketched also are several items
of equipment.

The astronauts' suits are even more restrictive.

The Portable Life Support System (PLSS) con­
tains the oxygen needed by the astronaut and
radios for communication. It also maintains the
temperature inside the suit at a comfortable level
for the astronaut.
The rest of this guidebook is a discussion of the
astronauts' equipment and of their activities on
the lunar surface and in orbit.

FIGURE 4.-Egress. Apollo 11 astronaut Aldrin is shown

egressing from the LM. Note the ladder that leads dorwn
one leg from the platform. NASA PHOTO s-71-31090.

5
Landing Site Description

The Apollo 16 landing area, termed the Des­ site: The craters, the Cayley Plains, and the Des­
cartes region, is situated in the southern highlands �artes formation. All of them are clearly visible
of the Moon (latitude 9°00'01" South, longitude m figure 6. They are shown in the simplified geo­
.
15o30'59" E ast) . I"
1 or thIS landing, we have logic map of figure 9.
selected a relatively smooth area nestled in the
picturesque and rugged lunar highlands. The gen­ THE CRATERS
eral loc�tion i� shown in figure 1. See figure 6 for
Craters are rare on Earth. They are present
a beautiful view of the site, sketched by Jerry
everywhere on the Moon. Even the most casual TV
Elmore, and �gure 7 for the geography of the
watcher of the previous lunar landin!!S has now
<">
Desc �rtes regwn. In drawing figure 6, we have
seen many craters, but what he may not know is
combmed the precision that is available from
how much can be learned about the Moon from
modern-day computers with the insights that can
craters. The "freshness" of a crater is a measure
come only from an artist. Thus the features are
of its relative age. Notice how sharp the crater
very accurately drawn but they are displayed in
North Ray appears in figure 6 (North Ray is the
a way that the human eye will see them. Then in
bright rayed crater in the left foreground.) Com­
figure �' �
I s ow a topographic map. This map
pare it with the much smoother one about one­
shows m detail the elevation of each point on the
half mile west. This comparison suggests that
landing site. It represents the basic data used
North Ray is the younger of the two craters. It is
to construct figure 6.
easy to generalize this comparison to a reo-ular
0
Since prehistoric times, man has known that the 0 0

gradatiOn of sharpness which can then be used

Moon, as seen with the unaided eye, has both light
to obtain the relative ages of many craters.
areas and dark areas. The dark areas look smooth
Our understanding of the details of crater for­
the light areas more rugged. The dark areas ar � mation has been greatly improved by the study
called maria (plural of mare) from the mistaken
of impact craters on Earth. One such crater that
belief, now centuries old, that they were once seas.
is generally well-known is Meteor Crater, near
(111are is the old Latin word for sea.) We visited
Flagstaff, Arizona. Other impact craters, less well­
such areas on Apollo 11, 12, and 14. Then on
known to the public but intensely studied by geo­
Apollo 15 we landed just at the edge of a dark
logists, exist in Tennessee, Canada ' Australia ' Ger-
area and during the exploration that followed
many, and elsewhere. An oblique photograph of
climbe � part way up the initial slopes of the
Meteor Crater is shown in figure 10.
Apenmne Mountains, a light area.
But not all features on the Moon's surface were
�
T e light areas are termed highlands, a name
formed by impacting objects. Some were formed
earned over from the days when it was believed
by volcanism. It is never easy on the basis of photo­
that they stood higher than the hmar seas. That
graphs or telescopic observations to distinguish be­
they indeed stand higher than the maria is now
tween an impact and a volcanic origin for a partic­
\�ell established by measurements made on pre­
ular feature. In fact Galileo, the first man to look
VIous Apollo flights. On Apollo 16 we will visit
ff
the highlands and examine two di erent kinds of at the Moon through a telescope, about 350 years
rock that together cover about 11¥2 percent of ago, suggested that all the craters on the Moon
the front side of the Moon. were due to volcanoes. His hypothesis stood un­
In the rest of this section, I will discuss the challenged for two centuries until someone sug­
several geologic features present at the landing gested the impact hypothesis. As so often happens

7
FIGURE 6.-The Descartes region, landing site of Apollo 16. We are looking due east and downward at an angle of
about 10°. The bright rayed crater in the lower right hand corner is South Ray. The one slightly to the left of
center and in the foreground is North Ray crater. The planned touchdown point for
, the LM is roughly midway
between these two craters. The names of additional features are shown on figure 18. Artwork by Jerry Elmore.
NASA PHOTO A-71-60976.

in science, long, and sometimes bitter, arguments The shapes of craters also yield information
over which hypothesis was correct raged for about about the subsurface rocks. Note thak North Ray
100 years. Today, we believe that most lunar fea­ and the unnamed crater about 1f2 mile southwest
tures have resulted from impacts but some have of it both have flat bottoms. Considerably smaller
been caused by volcanic processes. craters at the landing site, such as Flag, have cone­
The craters provide samples that came originally shaped bottoms. One interpretation of these fea­
from below the Moon's surface and are now sitting tures is that a relatively solid layer occurs at a
on the surface of the Moon. Consider South Ray depth of about 250 feet. Samples of this layer have
(shown in figure 6) . Note the rays. They are the been excavated by the impact that formed North
white streaks that radiate from the crater. The Ray and will surely be identified in the rocks
material along any particular ray came from dif­ brought back to Earth. The layer is possibly a
ferent depths in the Moon. By studying cmters on basalt flow similar in many >vays to those known
Earth, we have learned that the position along a on Earth.
ray corresponds to a particular depth. \Ve have The study of the vertical changes in rocks,
even watched through slow motion photography termed stratigraphy, provides the basic data nec­
the material exhumed from depth by a large explo­ essary to construct the history of the Moon. (For
sion; we have traced it through the air and seen it example, many facts about the geological history
land at a particular distance along the ray. Thus of the Earth have been read from the rocks ex­
by sampling the rocks from a ray, we can obtain posed in the walls and bottom of the Grand Can­
samples of the rocks that lie at different depths. yon.) Thus samples obtained at different eleva­
Such samples are very important and will be col­ tions are quite important. Samples originally on
lected at several craters. the tops of the mountains, such as Stone and

8
 Smoky (figv.re 6) , can now be collected near the back in the laboratory on Earth will we be reason­
bottom of the mountains. Of course material from ably sure about the origin of any particular
all heights will be mixed together. One challenge sample.
to the lunar geologist is the "unmixing" of the THE CAYLEY PLAINS
samples and the assignment of the proper strati­
graphic height to each. Between the two bright rayed craters (North
Material ejected from some giant craters ex­ Ray and South Ray) lies a rather smooth surface,
tends halfway across the Moon. See figure 1 for the Cayley Plains. It is on this smooth surface
exampies : the crater Tycho near the south pole is that the LM will land. The rocks beneath the
the most prominent. Material from others extends plains make up the Cayley formation* which is the
shorter distances. Everywhere on the Moon some largest single rock unit* in the highlands of the
material has been received from distant impacts. * Geologists use the terms formation and rock unit
Most of the material present in the vicinity of any interchangeably to mean a single body of rock than can
particular crater is undoubtedly the material that be recognized as such. Thus on Earth, where we h ave
was present before the crater '.vas formed. The more time, geologists very often trace the outline of a
formation by physically following it over the surface.
exotic material, that which came from elsewhere,
Formerly they walked or rode horses. Today they use
is probably quite rare and the amount present at jeeps and helicopters. On the Moon, we rely on photo­
the Apollo 16 site may be less than 1 part per 1,000. graphs and telescopes. The abbreviation for formation
Only after extensive investigation of the samples is fm.

FIGURE 7.-General geography of the Descartes region. The ruggedness of the lunar highlands is shown very well in
this sketch of the region by artist Jerry Elmore. Note the flat bottoms of the large craters. We are looking due
easlt. The trajectory of the deseending LM is shown as the heavy dashed line. Location of area of Figure 6 is
indicated by the light dashed line. NASA s-72-16853.

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FIGURE 9.-Geologic sketch map of the Descartes region. The various symbols on this
map are used to indicate different features and different kinds of rocks that have
been discovered already through observations made of the Moon through Earth-based
telescope's and with spacecraft photography. Most of the area is covered with the
Cayley formation, shown on the map with the symbol Ic. The names of various
features, picked by the Apollo 16 crew, are also shown. The symbol Or is used for
material from the rayed craters. The region of Stone Mountain is covered with
material that contains many furrows and is identified as the Deooartes Formation
(Idd). It occurs in the vicinity of Smoky Mountain also. Note the extensive rays
of South Ray crater. Compare this map with the photo of the same area shown in
Figure 18. Map courtesy of U.8'. Geological Survey.

FIGURE 8.-Topographic Map of the Desearte1s region. This map shows the elevations of the surface of the Moon in the
vicinity of the Apollo 16 landing slite. The lineis, called contours,, eonned points of equal elevation. Thus the line
that is labeled 8050 indicates that the elevation of all points on the Moon's surface corresponding to that line lies
at a rolative height of 8050 meters. On 'topographic maps of the Earth we measure elevations: relative to mean sea
le-Vel. For the Moon we measure elevlations relative to a sphere of radius 1,738,000 meters. The difference in eilevation
between adjacent Lines is 10 meters (about 30 feet). NASA PHOTO s-72-16335.

11

454-999 0 - 72 - 3
 ill�
I

FIGURE 10.-Meteor crater. This crater, about a half m'ile acros,s, 600 feet deep, and located near Flagstaff. Arizona,
was caused by the impact oct' a large meteorite with the Earth in prehistoric times. Thousands of pieces of the
meteorit
r e have been found in the surrounding area. This feature has been studied extensively by members of the
U.S. Geolog1iaal Survey and has shed light on the detans oct' crater formation. Note the raised vim, a characteristic
of many lunar craters. The crater, readily accessible by automobile, is well worth the small time required to visilt
if one is nearby. PHOTO COURTESY OF U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.

front side of the Moon. It covers about 7% of the us to obtain data with which to decipher this
front side. Samples from several levels within this puzzle.
unit can be collected by the astronauts. Some will
be collected near the landing point, others along
the traverses. Rocks exhumed by North Ray Crater DESCARTES FORMATION
(and other craters) from depths to about 600 feet
can be sampled in the rays. Several layers are ex­ The Descartes fm consists of highland plateau
posed in the east wall of North Ray Crater. They materia:l, the surface of which is composed of hills
are probably the same layers that can be seen else­ and valleys. To the non-geo�ogist, this description
where in the landing site and form scarps (or may sound odd. But then, it's the easiest way of
cliffs) to the south and east of the crater. These sayin.g that the Descartes fm is the one that occurs
layers may be layers of basalt. They may be some­ on the highland plateau and that it forms hills and
thing else. No one is now sure. The detailed sam­ valleys. You see, we know that on Earth certain
pling now planned for the Cayley fm should allow kinds of rocks have certain characteristics-some

12

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 FIGURE 11.-Basalt flow on Earth. This' rock, no w solidified, poured out on the surface
of the Earth as a hot liquid. The surface is very smooth. IDxamiination of the rock
with a microscope reveals that it contains mineral crysta�s s;et in glass. The feature
in the central foreground that resembles thick molasses that has1 been IJO'Ured
I4rupidly from a jar is 10 to 12 feet across. Location is Hawaii. NASA PHOTO s-72-16316.

occur mostly in valleys, some "hold up" ridges, The rock that flows out of most volcanoes is lava.
others form very rough and majestic mountains, When it cools and becomes solid, then it is called
and so on. Because we have not yet seen a sample basalt. A well-known example is that of the
from the Descartes fm, we can best describe it in Haw;}iian volcanoes. A striking illustration of a
terms of those large scale characteristics that we bastal�t flow in Hawaii is shown in figure 11. Basalt
have seen. is very wide-spread throughout the western United
This unit covers about 4%% of the near-side of States and most visitors to that area see solidified
the Moon. Abundant samples of the Descartes fm basalt flows. A rock that is chemically similar to
should be available at the Apollo 16 landing site. basalt but slightly coarser grained is diabase.
The expected distribution of this material at the Many examples of diabase ar. e known. Visitors to
site is shown in Figure 9. This map was drawn on New York City often cross a prominent scarp (the
the bases of telescopic studies and photographs steep hill) on the western side of the Hudson River.
taken from orbit. That scarp is the face of a gently dipping, flat,
The Descartes formation is very likely composed tabular body of diabase, known as the Palisades
of the igneous rock basalt. Terrestrial basalts are sill. The rock of the Palisades sill is similar in
very common and are most likely known to you. many ways to basalts.

13