Apollo 16 landed at Descartes on 21 April 1972. John Young and Charles Duke spent 71 hours on the surface, 20.2 of them outside in 3 moonwalks, while Ken Mattingly stayed in orbit. They brought back 95.7 kg of rock and soil and drove the rover 26.7 km. The only landing in the lunar highlands, near Descartes crater.
Stand there in 3D| Landed (UTC) | 21 April 1972 |
| On the surface | John Young, Charles Duke |
| In orbit | Ken Mattingly |
| Time on the surface | 71 hours |
| Moonwalks | 3, 20.2 hours in all |
| Samples returned | 95.7 kg |
| Rover driven | 26.7 km |
| Lunar Module position | 8.973° S, 15.499° E (LROC) |
The Moon explorer puts Descartes on the globe with its own card. Standing there, the ground around the Lunar Module comes from LRO's camera: a 2 m terrain model and its photograph at the centre, then wider LOLA maps out to the horizon.