On April 20, 1972, Apollo 16 astronaut Charles Duke became the tenth and youngest person to walk on the Moon at just 36 years old. Before leaving the lunar surface, he placed a plastic encased photograph of himself, his wife Dorothy, and their two young sons, Charles III and Thomas, in the dust of the Descartes Highlands. On the back of the portrait, taken by NASA photographer Ludy Benjamin, Duke had written a message: “This is the family of Astronaut Duke from Planet Earth. Landed on the Moon, April 1972.” The photo was also signed and thumbprinted by each member of his family. The idea came from Duke wanting to involve his children in the experience despite the years of intense training that had kept him away from home. In a 2015 interview, he recalled telling them “would y’all like to go to the Moon with me? We can take a picture of the family and so the whole family can go to the Moon.” He had always planned to leave it there, and photographed it lying in the lunar soil as proof for his sons that he had kept his word. The portrait remains on the Moon to this day, more than 50 years later, though experts believe the extreme temperature swings on the lunar surface, which range from around 260 degrees Fahrenheit in sunlight to minus 280 degrees at night, have almost certainly bleached the image beyond recognition #reelheadline #pubity #viral