Workers clean Apollo 16 spaceship ahead of 50th anniversary

By JAY REEVES
Associated Press

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — The Apollo 16 spacecraft is dusty and home to a few cobwebs decades after it carried three astronauts to the moon. But workers at a space museum are getting the capsule ready for events marking the 50th anniversary of its flight in 1972. A crew recently used microfiber towels, brushes and a special vacuum to clean the antique spacecraft, which is displayed at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The COVID-19 pandemic meant a break in the normal cleaning routine. Visitors were once able to touch the spacecraft, but it’s now encased in a glass case for protection.