Flag crater is a small crater in the Descartes Highlands of the Moon visited by the astronauts of Apollo 16. The name of the crater was formally adopted by the IAU in 1973. Geology Station 1 is adjacent to Flag, at the much smaller Plum crater.
Apollo 16 image, with Flag left of center and Spook right of center. Plum is the tiny crater on the southeast rim of Flag.
Panorama of Flag crater taken by Charlie Duke, facing northwest at center
Panorama of Plum crater, to the left of the panorama above, facing southwest. Mission Commander John Young at left. The astronauts sampled soil in the foreground, and a boulder on the distal crater rim. Sample 61016, called Big Muley, is just above the right end of Young's shadow.
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.
Apollo 16 was the tenth crewed mission in the United States Apollo space program, administered by NASA, and the fifth and penultimate to land on the Moon. It was the second of Apollo's "J missions", with an extended stay on the lunar surface, a focus on science, and the use of the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV). The landing and exploration were in the Descartes Highlands, a site chosen because some scientists expected it to be an area formed by volcanic action, though this proved not to be the case.
John Young saluting the United States flag while jumping up on the Moon, with the Apollo Lunar Module Orion and Lunar Roving Vehicle in the background
Left to right: Mattingly, Young, DukeApollo program← Apollo 15Apollo 17 →
Apollo 16 space-flown silver Robbins medallion
John Young and Charles Duke training at the Rio Grande Gorge in New Mexico
