Flag crater is a small crater in the

Descartes Highlands The Descartes Highlands is an area of lunar highlands located on the near side that served as the landing site of the American Apollo 16 mission in early 1972. The Descartes Highlands is located in the area surrounding Descartes crater, after ...

of the Moon visited by the astronauts of

Apollo 16 Apollo 16 (April 1627, 1972) was the tenth human spaceflight, crewed mission in the United States Apollo program, Apollo space program, administered by NASA, and the fifth and penultimate to Moon landing, land on the Moon. It was the second o ...

. The name of the crater was formally adopted by the

IAU The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...

in 1973. Geology Station 1 is adjacent to Flag, at the much smaller Plum crater. On April 21, 1972, the Apollo 16

Apollo Lunar Module The Apollo Lunar Module (LM ), originally designated the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM), was the lunar lander spacecraft that was flown between lunar orbit and the Moon's surface during the United States' Apollo program. It was the first crewed sp ...

(LM) ''Orion'' landed about 1.5 km east of Flag, which is between the prominent North Ray and South Ray craters. The astronauts John Young and

Charles Duke Charles Moss Duke Jr. (born October 3, 1935) is an American former astronaut, United States Air Force (USAF) officer and test pilot, and young Earth creationist. As Lunar Module pilot of Apollo 16 in 1972, he became the tenth and youngest p ...

explored the area over the course of three EVAs using a

Lunar Roving Vehicle The Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) is a Battery electric vehicle, battery-powered four-wheeled Rover (space exploration), rover used on the Moon in the last three missions of the American Apollo program (Apollo 15, 15, Apollo 16, 16, and Apollo 17 ...

, or rover. They drove to Flag on EVA 1. Flag crater AS16-109-17776-78-80-82

Flag crater is approximately 240 m in diameter and over 20 m deep. The adjacent crater Plum is only about 30 m in diameter. The slightly larger crater Spook, also visited by the astronauts, lies less than 1 km to the east. Flag cuts into the

Cayley Formation The Cayley Formation is a discontinuous unit of plains-forming material on the Moon. It was first recognized in the central near side of the Moon in 1965, by the Astrogeology group of the United States Geological Survey. It was previously mapped a ...

Imbrian The Imbrian is a lunar geologic period divided into two epochs, the Early and Late. Early Imbrian In the lunar geologic timescale, the Early Imbrian epoch occurred from 3,850 million years ago to about 3,800 million years ago. It overlaps the en ...

age. File:Duke and Young at Flag 05 most beautiful sight.jpg, TV camera still of Duke (left) and Young on the rim of Plum. Duke remarked at this time, "John, you are just beautiful. That is the most beautiful sight." Young is standing next to a boulder from which sample 61295 was taken. File:Duke on the Craters Edge - GPN-2000-001132.jpg, Young took this photo of Duke with Plum and the rover in the background from where he is standing in the above TV still. File:AS16-114-18420 (21496152408).jpg, The ridge between Flag (left) and Plum (right)

Samples

The following samples were collected from the vicinity of Plum and Flag crater (Station 1), as listed in Table 6-II of the Apollo 16 Preliminary Science Report,Apollo 16 Preliminary Science Report
(NASA SP-315), 1972 which does not include samples smaller than 25 g weight (of which there were many). Sample type, lithology, and descriptions are from the Lunar Sample Atlas of the Lunar and Planetary Institute.Lunar Sample Atlas
Lunar and Planetary Institute

External links

Apollo 16 Traverses
78D2S2(25),

Lunar and Planetary Institute The Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) is a scientific research institute dedicated to study of the Solar System, its formation, evolution, and current state. The Institute is part of the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) and is ...

References

{{reflist Apollo 16 Impact craters on the Moon