Almost Home

The Apollo 16 lunar module, Orion, awaits the return of astronauts John Young and Charles Duke as they complete a long day of exploration in their lunar rover. Young and Duke landed in the Moon's Descartes region on April 20, 1972. They conducted three long moonwalks over three days before returning to lunar orbit to join crewmate Ken Mattingly for the ride back to Earth. The tall panel to the left of the American flag collected bits of the solar wind. [NASA]