A moon rover helped astronauts carry samples and equipment

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The Apollo 16 mission has landed on the Moon after a seven-hour crisis that nearly aborted the mission altogether.

Astronauts John Young and Charles Duke became the fifth team to step down onto the Moon at 0324 BST (0224 GMT). They landed in the Descartes crater region of the lunar highlands.

A delighted Charles Duke exclaimed, "Contact!" as the lunar module, Orion, touched down.

His first comment on looking around him was, "We're not going to have to walk far to pick up rocks."

Drama

It was the end of a seven-hour drama which began at 2036 BST (1936 GMT) the previous evening, when an engine on thecommand module, Casper, malfunctioned after it had separated from the lunar module.

If the engine had been fired at this point, the craft could have veered out of control or far off course, with disastrous consequences.

The command module has to place itself in a precise orbit above the Moon to be in the right place to pick up the lunar module for the journey home.

As the engine could not be fired, Orion could not be cleared for the landing, and there were serious doubts at mission control that it would be possible to make a landing at all.

Although the astronauts were not believed to be in personal danger, there were fears of another expensive failure like Apollo 13 two years ago, when an explosion on board crippled the spacecraft, aborting the mission and putting its crew at serious risk.

Deadline

The two Apollo 16 astronauts on the lunar module were told to halt their landing attempt and keep Orion close to Casper in a "station keeping position" in which it would be possible quickly to link the two craft if necessary.

Mission control issued an 0814 BST (0714 GMT) deadline to fix the problem or abandon the mission and return to Earth.

Then shortly before 0300 BST (0200 GMT) the command module pilot, Thomas Mattingly, managed to fire the engine while on the dark side of the Moon, out of radio contact.

The command module smoothly moved to the right point orbiting between 60 and 70 miles (95 to 110 km) above the lunar surface.

That cleared the way for the lunar module to begin making its descent.

The delay meant Young and Duke have had to cancel one of their three excursions on the moon buggy they have brought with them, but they should still be able to complete most of the mission as planned.

A Swat team moves in to the school

The bodies of the two suspects, who had apparently shot themselves, were later found in the library.

Explosive devices are said to have been found on or near the suspects' bodies.

They have been named as Eric Harris, 18, and 17-year-old Dylan Klebold.

'Trench coat mafia'

The pair are said to have belonged to a group known as the "trench coat mafia" who boasted about owning guns and were alienated from the other children.

One girl told police she was in the library when one of the boys burst in and began firing shots.

"He said he would kill everyone who had been mean to him and his friends over the last year," she said.

Other witnesses said the gunmen were targeting students from ethnic minorities and popular athletes.

As FBI agents and specialist firearms teams made their way through the carnage, a bomb set on a time device exploded.

At least 12 other bombs were found throughout the school, said police.

Three people believed to be friends of the suspects were arrested and were led away in handcuffs.

But a police spokeswoman said they were not thought to be directly involved in the shootings.

Columbine High School - which has 1,800 pupils - is situated in the middle-class suburb of Littleton.

US President Bill Clinton has sent his condolences to the town.

"The prayers of the American people are with you," he said.

command module:（登月太空船的）駕駛艙，指揮艙

rampage: to move about wildly or violently （暴跳，亂鬧）