
AS16-114-18412 (16-27 April 1972) --- The gnomon and color patch, one of the Apollo Lunar Hand Tools (ALHT), is deployed atop a lunar rock, in this photograph taken by one of the Apollo 16 astronauts during their lunar surface extravehicular activity (EVA) at the Descartes landing site. The gnomon is used as a photographic reference to establish local vertical sun angle, scale, and lunar color. The color patch, mounted on one of the legs of the tripod, provides a larger target for accurately determining colors in color photography. A portion of Flag Crater can be seen in the background. While astronauts John W. Young, commander; and Charles M. Duke Jr., lunar module pilot; descended in the Apollo 16 Lunar Module (LM) "Orion" to explore the Descartes highlands landing site on the moon, astronaut Thomas K. Mattingly II, command module pilot, remained with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) "Casper" in lunar orbit.
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NASA ID
as16-114-18412
Date Created
March 24, 2009
Center
JSC
Media Type
image
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