* 1972 – Apollo program: The launch of Apollo 16 from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Apollo 16 was the tenth manned mission in the United States Apollo space program, the fifth and penultimate to land on the Moon and the first to land in the lunar highlands.

The decision to target the Apollo 16 lunar landing for the highlands region of the Moon was made to obtain samples of the Descartes Formation and the Cayley Formation.

John Young, a captain in the United States Navy, had flown on three spaceflights prior to Apollo 16: Gemini 3, Gemini 10 and Apollo 10, which orbited the Moon.

One of nineteen astronauts selected by NASA in April 1966, Charles Duke had never flown in space before Apollo 16.

The insignia of Apollo 16 is dominated by rendering of an American eagle and a red, white and blue shield, representing the people of the United States, overlaying a gray background, the lunar surface.

Apollo 16 was slated to be the second of the " J-missions ," an Apollo mission type featuring the use of the Lunar Roving Vehicle ( LRV ), increased scientific capability, and lunar surface stays of three days.

They had hoped that scientific output from the Apollo 16 mission would confirm their suspicion.

Location of the Apollo 16 landing site.

Two locations on the Moon were given primary consideration for exploration by the Apollo 16 expedition, the Descartes Highlands region west of Mare Nectaris and the crater Alphonsus.

Geologists feared, however, that samples obtained from the crater might have been contaminated by the Imbrium impact, thus preventing Apollo 16 from obtaining samples of pre-Imbrium material.

It was ultimately decided to target the Apollo 16 mission to the Descartes site.

After selecting the landing site for Apollo 16, sampling the Descartes and Cayley formations, two geologic units of the lunar highlands, were determined by mission planners to be the primary sampling interests of the mission.

In preparation for their mission, the Apollo 16 astronauts participated in an extensive training program that included, among other things, several field geology trips to introduce the astronauts to concepts and techniques they would eventually use on the lunar surface.

In July 1971, the Apollo 16 astronauts visited Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada for geology training exercises, the first time U. S. astronauts ever did so.

Apollo 16 launches from the Kennedy Space Center on 16 April 1972.

The launch of Apollo 16 was delayed one month from 17 March to 16 April.

As the patron of Delphi ( Pythian Apollo ), Apollo was an oracular god — the prophetic deity of the Delphic Oracle.

Medicine and healing are associated with Apollo, whether through the god himself or mediated through his son Asclepius, yet Apollo was also seen as a god who could bring ill-health and deadly plague.

However, while Apollo has a great number of appellations in Greek myth, only a few occur in Latin literature, chief among them Phoebus ( ; Φοίβος, Phoibos, literally " radiant "), which was very commonly used by both the Greeks and Romans in Apollo's role as the god of light.

As sun-god and god of light, Apollo was also known by the epithets Aegletes ( ; Αἰγλήτης, Aiglētēs, from αἴγλη, " light of the sun "), Helius ( ; Ἥλιος, Helios, literally " sun "), Phanaeus ( ; Φαναῖος, Phanaios, literally " giving or bringing light "), and Lyceus ( ; Λύκειος, Lukeios, from Proto-Greek * λύκη, " light ").

In association with his birthplace, Mount Cynthus on the island of Delos, Apollo was called Cynthius ( ; Κύνθιος, Kunthios, literally " Cynthian "), Cynthogenes ( ; Κύνθογενης, Kunthogenēs, literally " born of Cynthus "), and Delius ( ; Δήλιος, Delios, literally " Delian ").

Apollo was worshipped as Actiacus ( ; Ἄκτιακός, Aktiakos, literally " Actian "), Delphinius ( ; Δελφίνιος, Delphinios, literally " Delphic "), and Pythius ( ; Πύθιος, Puthios, from Πυθώ, Pūthō, the area around Delphi ), after Actium ( Ἄκτιον ) and Delphi ( Δελφοί ) respectively, two of his principal places of worship.

Acesius was the epithet of Apollo worshipped in Elis, where he had a temple in the agora.

A temple was dedicated to Apollo Medicus at Rome, probably next to the temple of Bellona.

As a god of archery, Apollo was known as Aphetor ( ; Ἀφήτωρ, Aphētōr, from ὰφίημι, " to let loose ") or Aphetorus ( ; Ἀφητόρος, Aphētoros, of the same origin ), Argyrotoxus ( ; Ἀργυρότοξος, Argurotoxos, literally " with silver bow "), Hecaërgus ( ; Ἑκάεργος, Hekaergos, literally " far-shooting "), and Hecebolus ( ; Ἑκηβόλος, Hekēbolos, literally " far-shooting ").

Apollo was called Ismenius ( ; Ἰσμηνιός, Ismēnios, literally " of Ismenus ") after Ismenus, the son of Amphion and Niobe, whom he struck with an arrow.

Apollo was worshipped throughout the Roman Empire.

Apollo was worshipped at Mauvières ( Indre ).

This epithet was given to Apollo in parts of Gaul, Northern Italy and Noricum ( part of modern Austria ).

Apollo Belenus was a healing and sun god.

Grannus was a healing spring god, later equated with Apollo.

An epithet for Apollo at Alesia, where he was worshipped as god of healing and, possibly, of physicians.

Apollo Virotutis was worshipped, among other places, at Fins d ' Annecy ( Haute-Savoie ) and at Jublains ( Maine-et-Loire ).

At Delphi, Apollo was venerated as the slayer of Pytho.

For the Greeks, Apollo was all the Gods in one and through the centuries he acquired different functions which could originate from different gods.

The magicians were also called " seer-doctors " ( ιατρομάντεις ), and they used an ecstatic prophetic art which was used exactly by the god Apollo at the oracles.

It was in this way that Apollo had become recognised as the god of music.

Apollo Delphinios was a sea-god especially worshiped in Crete and in the islands, and his name indicates his connection with Delphi and the holy serpent Delphyne ( womb ).

We don't know his original name, but it seems that he was absorbed by the more powerful Apollo, who stood by the " Mistress of the animals ", becoming her brother.

* 1966 – Gemini 11, the penultimate mission of NASA's Gemini program, and the current human altitude record holder ( except for the Apollo lunar missions )