Apollo 16 (April 16–27, 1972) was the tenth crewed mission in the
United States Apollo space program, administered by NASA, and the fifth
and next-to-last to land on the Moon. The mission was crewed by John
Young, Commander; Charles Duke, Lunar Module Pilot; and Ken Mattingly,
Command Module Pilot. Launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida
on April 16, 1972 (pictured), Apollo 16 experienced a number of minor
glitches en route to the Moon. These culminated with a problem with the
spaceship's main engine that resulted in a six-hour delay in the Moon
landing. Young and Duke explored the Descartes Highlands, a site thought
volcanic, although this proved to be not so. Mattingly orbited the Moon
in the command and service module, taking photos and operating
scientific instruments. During the return trip to Earth, Mattingly
performed a one-hour spacewalk to retrieve several film cassettes from
the exterior of the service module. Apollo 16 returned safely to Earth
on April 27, 1972.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_16>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1847:
New Zealand Wars: A minor Māori chief was accidentally shot by
a junior British Army officer in the settlement of Whanganui on New
Zealand's North Island, triggering the Whanganui campaign.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whanganui_campaign>
1912:
American pilot Harriet Quimby became the first woman to fly
across the English Channel.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet_Quimby>
1963:
In response to an open letter written by white clergymen,
Martin Luther King Jr. wrote the Letter from Birmingham Jail in defence
of the strategy of nonviolent resistance against racism.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter_from_Birmingham_Jail>
2001:
India and Bangladesh began a six-day conflict over their
disputed border, which ended in a stalemate.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_Bangladesh%E2%80%93India_border_clashes>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
boiling frog:
(idiomatic, often attributively) A person who, or thing which, is in a
gradually worsening situation without any realization of the peril until
it is too late.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/boiling_frog>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
We are in the days preceding Easter. We are preparing to
celebrate the victory of the Lord Jesus Christ over sin and death —
over sin and death — not over someone and against someone else. But
today, there is a war. Why do we want to win like this, according to the
way of the world? There are only losses this way. Why not allow Him to
win? Christ bore his cross to free us from the dominion of evil. He died
so that life, love, peace may reign. Let the weapons be put down! Let
the Easter truce begin. But not to reload the weapons and pick up the
fighting again — no! — a truce that will lead to peace, through real
negotiation that is also willing to make some sacrifice for the good of
the people. Indeed, what victory is there in planting a flag on a pile
of rubble?
--Pope Francis
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Pope_Francis>