A family photo on the Moon

A photograph of Charlie Duke's family has been lying on the Moon's surface since April 1972, placed there during his final moonwalk on the Apollo 16 mission. The photo was tucked under a plastic cover and left in the Descartes highlands, a region not previously visited by lunar explorers.

A message never read

On the back of the photo, Duke wrote a message that no one has been able to read since. The text, which described his family as coming from Earth and landing on the Moon in April 1972, may have been partially or fully erased by solar radiation over more than 50 years.

The youngest moonwalker

Charlie Duke was 36 years old when he walked on the Moon, making him the youngest of the 12 astronauts to have set foot on its surface. He was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, on October 3, 1935, and lived through the Apollo 16 mission, which lasted from April 16 to April 27, 1972.

A mission with new goals

Apollo 16 was one of three "J" missions, designed for longer stays on the Moon's surface. The primary objectives included sampling the Descartes highlands, installing experiments, and conducting scientific observations from orbit. The mission also marked the first use of the lunar rover to explore the area around the landing site.

A family connection to the Moon

Duke's decision to leave the photo was inspired by his two sons, Charles and Thomas, who were living in Houston at the time. He wanted to involve them in the adventure, so he offered to take a family portrait with him to the Moon. The photo shows Duke, his wife Dorothy, and their two sons sitting on a bench in a summer setting.

A lasting legacy

The photo was placed on the Moon during the third and final moonwalk, before Duke installed a solar wind collector. He photographed it with his Hasselblad camera, but the message on the back remains unreadable. The photo is too small to be noticed from lunar orbit, and its condition is unknown, likely due to decades of exposure to solar radiation.

A message for Artemis II

In April 2026, during the Artemis II mission, Duke recorded a message for the crew, which NASA broadcast as they approached the Moon. He reminded them of the family photo left on the Moon and hoped it would remind them of the world's support for their mission.

Personal tributes on the Moon

In addition to the photo, Duke left a piece of beta fabric marked "64-C" on the Moon, in tribute to the US Air Force. This gesture honored his military background, while the photo represented a personal connection to Earth and his family.

Scientific achievements of Apollo 16

The mission returned 209 pounds (about 95 kg) of lunar samples and covered 16.6 miles (nearly 27 km) in the lunar rover. However, the family photo made a one-way trip, remaining on the Moon as a unique personal artifact of the mission.