Apollo 16 PFS-2 particles-and-fields lunar subsatellite spacecraft family
Apollo 16’s PFS-2 particles-and-fields subsatellite was ejected from the Command and Service Module into lunar orbit on April 24, 1972. It measured the Moon’s plasma, particle, magnetic-field, and gravity environment and returned comparable data to PFS-1, but its low deployment orbit decayed after 34 days instead of the planned year.
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Identity
- Aliases
- Apollo 16 SubsatelliteApollo 16DPFS-2Particles and Fields Subsatellite1972-031D
- Family Name
- Apollo 16 Subsatellite
- Full Name
- Apollo 16 PFS-2 particles-and-fields lunar subsatellite spacecraft family
- Roles
- orbiterobservatoryresearch
- Status
- retired
- Type
- spacecraft
Details
- Description
- Apollo 16’s PFS-2 particles-and-fields subsatellite was ejected from the Command and Service Module into lunar orbit on April 24, 1972. It measured the Moon’s plasma, particle, magnetic-field, and gravity environment and returned comparable data to PFS-1, but its low deployment orbit decayed after 34 days instead of the planned year.
- First Flight Year
- 1,972
- Last Flight Year
- 1,972
- Operator
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Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- August 13, 2026 at 12:34:25 UTC
- Updated Time
- August 14, 2026 at 17:38:24 UTC