21 April - Saturday

Day of Astronomy
International Circus Day
Kite Festival in China
The flower contest (Bloemen Corso) in the Netherlands

1972 The descent vehicle of the American spacecraft "Apollo-16" landed on the surface of the Moon

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"Apollo 16" (Apollo 16) - the tenth manned flight in the US space program "Apollo". This was the second mission, after Apollo 15, with an emphasis on the scientific studies of the Earth's satellite and the first landing in the highlands of the Moon.
The launch of Apollo 16 was scheduled for March 17, 1972. But because of the breakdowns of the mechanisms for separating the lunar compartment and the inaccuracies in the operation of the onboard batteries, it was postponed to April 16.
The start and flight to the moon went well, but the malfunction of the engine's thrust control system caused the astronauts to linger in the moon's orbit. At this time on Earth, the possible consequences of this malfunction were analyzed. This time, the astronauts were enough to make three unplanned turns. Finally, six hours later the landing was allowed.
But the landing site was cluttered with large stones. Because the actual landing point lay 150 meters to the north and 215 meters to the west of the calculated point - the Descartes plateau. The Descartes Plateau was not accidentally chosen for landing the fifth lunar expedition. It was here that it was supposed to find traces of volcanic activity.
April 21, 1972 on the ladder of the lunar module "Orion" came down a man in a clumsy white spacesuit. It was John Young, commander of Apollo 16. The area around the lunar cabin was covered with a layer of dust. Duke followed him downstairs. But here there was an opportunity - Duke accidentally dropped one device. As a result, the dust rose like "a bomb exploded".
The spacecraft "Apollo-16" spent three days on the natural satellite of the Earth. After the completion of the expedition, the Apollo-16 crew landed on Earth on April 27, 1972, less than two kilometers from the Ticonderoga aircraft carrier, setting a new landing accuracy record for the Apollo.