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Apollo 16 Gets Thorough Cleaning For 50th Anniversary Of Mission

In 1972, Apollo 16 took astronauts John W. Young and Charles M. Duke Jr. to the moon's central lunar highlands.

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Gary Phillips is shown through a hatch window cleaning the exterior of the Apollo 16 spacecraft at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, on Feb. 1.
Gary Phillips is shown through a hatch window cleaning the exterior of the Apollo 16 spacecraft at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, on Feb. 1. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves)

HUNTSVILLE, AL — The legacy of the Apollo 16 still lives on to this day, with people from all over still eager to view the spacecraft on display at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. While maintaining proper conditions for the capsule is vital, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a break in the ship's normal cleaning routine.

A crew of workers has been assembled to get the spacecraft ready in time for the 50th anniversary of its April 1972 flight. Dozens of items were removed from the glass enclosure that surrounds the capsule, while workers wiped down the 6.5-ton, nearly 11-foot-tall craft.

Consulting curator Ed Stewart taught museum staff how to maintain the capsule, according to AP News. The spacecraft has been on display in Huntsville since the 1970s and is on loan from the Smithsonian Institution.

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Check out photos of workers prepping the Apollo 16 spacecraft ahead of its 50th anniversary.

Ed Stewart uses a brush and a vacuum to clean the hatch of the Apollo 16 lunar spacecraft on Feb. 1. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves)
Gary Phillips uses a brush and a vacuum to clean the Apollo 16 lunar spacecraft. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves)
Workers surround the Apollo 16 lunar capsule while cleaning out its case. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves)
A spider web clings to the Apollo 16 lunar capsule. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves)
Workers open the glass case enclosing the Apollo 16 lunar capsule at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, on Feb. 1. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves)
Lunar module pilot Charles M. Duke Jr. salutes the U.S. flag during the first period of extravehicular activity during the Apollo 16 lunar landing mission on April 21, 1972. Stone Mountain is visible in the background as well as the lunar module and the lunar roving vehicle. (Photo by Space Frontiers/Getty Images)

The Associated Press contributed to this post.

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