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This Week in NASA History: Apollo 16 Launches – April 16, 1972

Liftoff of Saturn rocket on Apollo 16 mission
This week in 1972, Apollo 16 launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

This week in 1972, Apollo 16 launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Apollo 16 was the second of three science-oriented missions planned for the Apollo Program. It carried with it a Lunar Roving Vehicle, developed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center to transport astronauts and materials on the Moon. Today, Marshall is developing NASA’s Space Launch System, the most powerful rocket ever built, capable of sending astronauts to the Moon, Mars and deeper into space than ever before. The NASA History Program is responsible for generating, disseminating and preserving NASA’s remarkable history and providing a comprehensive understanding of the institutional, cultural, social, political, economic, technological and scientific aspects of NASA’s activities in aeronautics and space. For more pictures like this one and to connect to NASA’s history, visit the Marshall History Program’s webpage. (NASA)