Charles M. Duke, Jr. (b.October 3, 1935) explored the rugged highlands of the moon's Descartes region with John Young during the Apollo 16 mission in April 1972. Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, he received a Bachelor of Science degree in naval sciences from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1957 and a Master of Science in aeronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1964.
Following his graduation and commission from the Naval Academy, Duke entered the U.S. Air Force and received flying training at Spence Air Base, Georgia, and Webb Air Force Base, Texas. He completed advanced training in F-86L aircraft at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia. He served three years with the 526th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, before transferring to the Aerospace Research Pilot School. Upon graduation from the school he remained on as an instructor, teaching control systems and flying in F-101, F-104 and T-33 aircraft.
Duke was among 19 new astronauts selected by NASA in April 1996. After serving as a member of the astronaut support crew for Apollo 13, he was named Lunar Module pilot for Apollo 16, along with Commander John Young and Command Module pilot T.K. Mattingly.
They were launched April 16, 1972, and reached the moon three days later. While Mattingly orbited the moon in the command ship Casper, Young and Duke landed their lunar ship Orion on the Cayley Plain in the Descartes highlands. During three outside excursions over three days, they drove a Lunar Rover 16 miles and collected 213 pounds of lunar rock and soil.
In 1975, Duke retired from NASA to enter private business. He is president of Charlie Duke Enterprises, Inc., and is an active speaker and Christian lay witness. He is also a brigadier general in the U.S. Air Force Reserve. Charlie Duke was inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame on October 4, 1997.
Astronaut Charles Duke stated on June 22, 1996, at the Texas State Republican Convention in San Antonio, Texas, (Charles Duke: Moonwalker, Rose Petal Press, 2nd edition, 2011, p. 256-261):
<Even my walk on the moon has been used for God's glory...I have been before kings and prime ministers, junta leaders and dictators, businessmen and beggars, rich and poor, black and white, giving the same message that Jesus is the answer.
One of the most touching times was in the office of one of the cabinet ministers in Israel. An American evangelist had arranged this meeting and there were about ten of us in the office. After the introduction I was asked to share my walk on the moon with the Israeli minister.
'Mr. Minister,' I began, 'I was able to look back at the earth from the moon and hold up my hand and underneath this hand was the earth. The thought occurred to me that underneath my hand were four billion people. I couldn't see Europe, America, the Middle East. I couldn't see blacks or whites, Jews or Orientals, just spaceship earth. I realized we needed to learn to love one another, and I believed that with that love and our technical expertise, we could solve all of mankind's problems...'
The promises of the Bible are true and, I believe, speak the truth in every area - whether it be in spiritual matters, nutrition, history, or even science. In 1972 aboard Apollo 16, I saw with my own eyes what is written in the Scriptures.
In Isaiah 40:22 it says 'It is He that sitteth upon the circle of the earth.' And in Job 26:7, it is written 'He hangeth the earth upon nothing.'
Who told Isaiah that the earth was a circle?...And how did the writer of Job know that the hung upon nothing?...
This is the Lord I love and serve. This is the Lord who transformed by life. This is the Lord who transformed my marriage.
I used to say I could live ten thousand years and never have an experience as thrilling as walking on the moon. But the excitement and satisfaction of that walk doesn't begin to compare with my walk with Jesus, a walk that lasts forever.
I thought Apollo 16 would be my crowning glory, but the crown that Jesus gives will not tarnish or fade away. His crown will last throughout all eternity.
Not everyone has the opportunity to walk on the moon, but everybody has the opportunity to walk with the Son. It costs billions of dollars to send someone to the moon, but walking with Jesus is free, the Gift of God. 'For by Grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.'
You don't need to go to the moon to find God. I didn't find God in space - I found him in the front seat of my car on Highway 46 in New Braunfels, Texas, when I opened my heart to Jesus. And my life hasn't been the same since.
Now I can truly look up at the moon and the stars and with the prophets of old exclaim, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth His handiwork."
The other day I was listening to the country-western tapes I carried to the moon. At one point Porter Wagoner began to introduce a song by Dolly Parton and said 'I'm sure during this historic Apollo flight that you'll see many, many beautiful scenes - some that men's eyes have never seen before - which I'm sure as you view them you'll think of God, the Creator of this great universe. And here is one of the most beautiful songs that describes 'How Great Thou Art.'' Then Dolly Parton began to sing it.> 1935CD001
On the Apollo 14 mission, February 6, 1971, Astronauts Edgar Mitchell and Alan Shepard left a tiny microfilm copy of the King James Bible aboard the lunar module Antares on the moon's Fra Mauro highlands.
On Apollo 15's mission, 1971, Astronaut James Irwin became the 8th person to walk on the moon. He spoke of leaving earth:
<As we got farther and farther away it diminished in size. Finally it shrank to the size of a marble, the most beautiful marble you can imagine. That beautiful, warm, living object looked so fragile, so delicate, that if you touched it with a finger it would crumble and fall apart. Seeing this has to change a man, has to make a man appreciate the creation of God and the love of God.>
Later becoming an evangelical minister, Astronaut James Irwin spoke of his experience walking on the moon:
<I felt the power of God as I'd never felt it before.>
Astronaut Mike Mullane flew the Space Shuttle Discovery, 1984, then, after the Challenger disaster, he flew Space Shuttle Atlantis, 1988, 1990. In his book, Riding Rockets, Mike Mullane told of the night before a launch, sleepless with apprehension, he checked his nightstand for a Bible but found none. He then wrote:
<I didn't need a Bible to talk to God. I prayed for my family. I prayed for myself. I prayed I wouldn't blow up and then I prayed harder that I wouldn't screw up.>
In 2010, NASA's Constellation program was building new rockets and spaceships capable of returning astronauts to the moon, till President Obama canceled it.
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden outlined new priorities in an interview with the Middle East News agency in Cairo, Al Jazeera, June 30, 2010:
<When I became the NASA administrator...President Obama charged me...perhaps foremost...to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good.>
--
American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to use with acknowledgement.
1935CD001. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Charles M. Duke, Jr., June 22, 1996, 8:00 a.m., Texas Republican State Convention, Prayer Rally, Lila Cockrell Theatre, San Antonio, Texas, advertisement flyer. Charles Duke: Moonwalker (Rose Petal Press, 2nd edition, 2011, p. 256-261).