Space Patch of the Month: Apollo 16
- Aeryn Avilla
- Apr 1
- 2 min read
Apollo 16 was the tenth manned Apollo mission and carried three astronauts— John Young, Ken Mattingly, and Charlie Duke— to and from the moon. It launched from the Kennedy Space Center on April 16, 1972 and spent three days in lunar orbit before returning to Earth on April 27. Young and Duke drove the Lunar Roving Vehicle around the Descartes Highlands and Mattingly performed a deep-space EVA during the return to Earth.
According to lunar module pilot Duke, the crew wished to incorporate ideas of patriotism, teamwork, and the moon into their mission patch. In the center of the patch is the red, white, and blue shield from the Great Seal of the United States, a callback to Apollo 10's shield-shaped mission patch. Young was the command module pilot of the 1969 lunar-landing dress rehearsal. Superimposed over the shield is a yellow chevron adopted from the NASA "meatball", which represents aeronautics [1]. Perched atop the shield is a North American bald eagle, a long-time symbol of the United States and of spaceflight [2]. The background is the lunar surface, possibly the Descartes region but I'm not certain. Within a dark blue and gold border are the crew's names and 16 white stars. Artist Barbara Matelski designed the Apollo 16 mission patch and included her initials in the lunar surface background— can you find it?
[1] According to NASA, the specific shape is that of the "latest design in hypersonic wings" from 1959.
[2] The bald eagle's most famous use [in space symbolism] was as the main focus of Apollo 11's mission patch.
Bibliography
Dorr, Gene. "Apollo 16." Space Mission Patches. https://genedorr.com/patches/Apollo/Ap16.html
"NASA's 'Meatball' Logo." NASA, 2018. https://www.nasa.gov/history/nasas-meatball-logo/#:~:text=In%20the%20%E2%80%9Cmeatball%E2%80%9D%20design%2C,spacecraft%20going%20around%20the%20wing
This post was written entirely without the use of AI (sorry HAL). Go Cats!
Comments