Apollo astronaut left family portrait on the moon in 1972. It was him honoring a sweet promise to his kids

When NASA astronauts John W. Young and Charles M. Duke made their first arrival on the moon on April 23, 1972, they were undoubtedly going through a rollercoaster of emotions. While they were distinguished space experts, they were also humans who, in a way, made a once impossible dream come true. Business Insider revealed that during the Apollo 16 mission, Duke left behind his family portrait on the moon. The picture consisted of his sons, Charles Duke III and Thomas Duke, 7 and 5 at the time, and his wife, Dorothy Meade Claiborne. To this day, hundreds remember the act as a promise fulfilled. 

It has been over four decades since the mission was completed and the astronauts came back to Earth. However, what the world prominently remembers is his adorable act of leaving behind his family portrait on the moon. As Duke stepped up there, making history, he remembered he was also a dedicated father and husband and fulfilled a promise. While the astronaut was working on his mission in Florida, he was away from his family in Houston. As a result, he didn’t get a chance to spend time with his family. However, occasional talks with his sons were often filled with curiosity and eagerness about the moon. 

It was during one of these conversations that the astronaut dad asked his sons, “Would y'all like to go to the moon with me?” He then suggested the idea of taking a family picture so that, in a way, his family would be able to be present on the moon with him. Speaking with Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, he revealed, “We got one of the NASA photographers to come over, and we got dressed up and got in our backyard, and the photographer took the picture of our family.” They all signed it, and when he landed in 1972, he left a portrait with a message on the back. It read, “This is the family of astronaut Charlie Duke from planet Earth who landed on the moon on April 20, 1972." 

Speaking of his decision, Duke is beyond proud and glad. "I'd always planned to leave it on the moon. So when I dropped it, it was just to show the kids that I really did leave it on the moon,” he remarked. In a video shared by @omega, Duke recalled the memory last year, “It started curling up because the temperature was like 100 degrees. It didn’t last very long, but long enough for me to take a picture of it.” Years later, that tribute has much value to many. Duke mentioned that it stands as a great example of the "human side of space exploration." What about the picture today? The man noted it’s definitely not in pristine condition. 

"After 43 years, the temperature of the moon every month goes up to 400 degrees [Fahrenheit] in our landing area, and at night it drops to almost absolute zero," Duke said. He added that though it “looked okay” when he dropped it, he never got a chance to see it again and suspects it may have faded. According to History, many astronauts have left things behind during their missions to the moon. Among these was a small silicon disc, on which four U.S. Presidents (Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon) had written microscopic goodwill messages. “The journey of the astronauts is more than a technical achievement; it is a reaching-out of the human spirit,” the message from Nixon read. The size of a half-dollar coin, this disc was moved using an aluminum capsule that Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin left on the Sea of Tranquillity. Carrying statements from 73 global leaders, many in native languages, the disc encompassed the idea to “congratulate the United States and its astronauts and also express hope for peace to all nations of the world,” according to NASA.

More on Scoop Upworthy

Astronaut's letter about landing on the moon in 1969 is still inspiring the world

Parents to send ashes of son who dreamt of being astronaut to space: 'Love you to the moon and back'

Famous geologist who had his dreams of walking on the moon crushed had one unusual request about his remains