Apollo 16 Astronaut Charlie Duke was the honored guest at the Apollo to Artemis event at Davidson Center

The youngest of only 12 men to have ever walked on the moon, 86-year-old Brig. Gen. Charles “Charlie” Duke, lunar module pilot for the Apollo 16, was in Huntsville this week to celebrate NASA Marshall Space Flight Center’s 50^th Anniversary of the Apollo 16 mission to the moon.

Duke was the honored guest last night at the Apollo to Artemis event under the Saturn V rocket in the Davidson Center for Space Exploration. Earlier in the day he entertained a theatre full of kids from Space Camp.

In addition to remarks from Duke at the sold-out event, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center director Jody Singer and NASA associate administrator for Exploration Development James Free shared updates on the Artemis program and the next steps on the journey back to the moon and beyond.

The Rocket Center will also highlight the Apollo and Artemis missions with an Apollo to Artemis Earth Day Friday, April 22 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be hands-on activities highlighting the achievements of the Apollo era. The price is included in museum admission.

NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, the National Space Society and the HAL5 Society will have activities and information about the Artemis program.

The week caps off with a special Cocktails and Cosmos in the INTUITIVE® Planetarium at 7 p.m. The show focuses on the Descartes Highlands, an area Apollo 16 astronauts explored with the Lunar Rover Vehicle, increasing our knowledge of the lunar surface.