Moon Trees

Living Tributes to Lunar Exploration Moon Trees Sprouted from seeds that journeyed around the Moon aboard Apollo 14 in February 1971, “Moon Trees” planted across the United States endure as living reminders of Apollo-era lunar exploration. In 2022, a new generation of tree seeds flew around the Moon on NASA’s Artemis I mission as part of a national STEM Engagement and conservation education initiative. Apollo 14 Moon Trees Apollo Moon Tree Locations Second-Generation Moon Trees Artemis Moon Trees Artemis Moon Tree Stewards The “Moon Tree” in front of the Visitor Center at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. This sycamore was planted at the visitor center on June 9, 1977, and grew from a seed carried to the Moon aboard Apollo 14. NASA/Pat Izzo Apollo 14 Moon Trees Apollo 14 launched in the late afternoon of January 31, 1971 on what was to be our third trip to the lunar surface. Five days later Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell walked on the Moon while Stuart Roosa, a former U.S. Forest Service (USFS) smoke jumper, orbited above in the command module. Packed in small containers in Roosa’s personal kit were hundreds of tree seeds, part of a joint NASA/USFS project. Upon return to Earth, the seeds were germinated by the Forest Service. Known as the Apollo “Moon Trees”, the resulting seedlings were planted throughout the United States (often as part of the nation’s bicentennial in 1976) and the world. They stand as a tribute to astronaut Roosa and the Apollo program. Astronaut Stuart A. Roosa was the command module pilot of the Apollo 14 lunar landing mission. In 1971 hundreds of tree seeds were packed in his personal kit as part of a joint NASA/USFS project. NASA The project began after Roosa was chosen for the Apollo 14 mission. Ed Cliff, Chief of the Forest Service, knew of Stuart Roosa from his days as a smokejumper and contacted him about bringing seeds into space. Stan Krugman of the Forest Service was put in charge of the project and selected the seeds for the experiment. Seeds were chosen from five different types of trees: loblolly pine, sycamore, sweetgum, redwood, and Douglas fir. The seeds were classified and sorted, and sealed in small plastic bags that were stored in a metal canister. Control seeds were kept on Earth for later comparison. Roosa carried possibly 2,000 or more seeds in the canister in his personal kit, a small canvas pouch that stayed with him as he orbited the Moon in the command module “Kitty Hawk” in February, 1971. Unfortunately, the seed bags burst open during the decontamination procedures after their return to Earth, and the seeds were scattered about the chamber and exposed to vacuum, and it was thought they might not be viable. Stan Krugman collected the seeds and an attempt at germinating some of the seeds was made in Houston. Somewhat surprisingly, it proved successful and the seeds started growing, but they did not survive long because the facilities there were inadequate. A year later the remaining seeds were sent to the southern Forest Service station in Gulfport, Mississippi (sycamore, loblolly pine, and sweetgum) and to the western station in Placerville, California (redwood and Douglas fir) to attempt germination. Many of the seeds, and later cuttings, were successful and grew into viable seedlings. Some of these were planted with their Earth-bound counterparts as controls, (as might be expected, after over forty years there is no discernable difference) but most were given away in 1975 and 1976 to many state forestry organizations to be planted as part of the nation’s bicentennial celebration. These trees were southern and western species, so not all states received trees. A loblolly pine was planted at the White House, and trees were planted in Brazil, Switzerland, and presented to the Emperor of Japan, among others. Trees have also been planted in Washington Square in Philadelphia, at Valley Forge, in the International Forest of Friendship, and at various universities and NASA centers, reportedly in 40 different states. Clipping from the September 1977 edition of Goddard Space Flight Center’s newsletter Goddard News. NASA Stuart Roosa was born on August 16, 1933, in Durango, Colorado. He worked for the Forest Service in the early 1950’s as a smoke jumper fighting fires and later joined the Air Force and became a test pilot. He was one of 19 people selected for the astronaut class of 1966 and was part of the astronaut support crew for Apollo 9. Following Apollo 14, Roosa was backup command module pilot for Apollo 16 and 17. He then worked on the Space Shuttle program until his retirement as a Colonel in the Air Force in 1976, the time when many of his trees were being planted. Roosa passed away in December 1994. The Moon Trees continue to flourish, a living monument to our first visits to the Moon and a fitting memorial to Stuart Roosa. Believed locations of some of the original Moon Trees are listed below, but no list was ever kept nor any systematic tracking made of the disposition of all the trees. This list of Moon Trees was initiated by Dr. David R. Williams, retired curator at NASA’s National Space Science Data Center, after receiving a request for more information from Joan Goble, a third grade teacher in Indiana in 1996. Since then, dozens of people have contributed with information about other Moon Trees. If you know of a Moon Tree not listed here or have a update to the status of one of those listed, please send a message to marie.j.henderson@nasa.gov. Apollo Moon Tree Locations Living U.S. Moon Trees City and StateLocationType of TreePlanting Date Birmingham, AlabamaBirmingham Botanical GardensSycamore25 February 1976 Montgomery, AlabamaState CapitolLoblolly Pine19 April 1976 Troy, AlabamaPioneer Museum of AlabamaLoblolly Pine5 August 1976 Tuscumbia, AlabamaIvy GreenLoblolly Pine19 October 1976 Tuskegee, AlabamaVA Medical CenterLoblolly Pine1976 Tucson ArizonaUniversity of ArizonaSycamore30 April 1976 Ft. Smith, ArkansasSebastian County CourthouseLoblolly Pine15 March 1976 Washington, ArkansasOld Washington Historic State ParkLoblolly Pine15 March 1976 Arcata, CaliforniaHumboldt State University3 Redwoods1976 Berkeley, CaliforniaTilden Nature Area2 Redwoods26 July 1976 Lockeford, CaliforniaLockeford Plant Materials CenterRedwood1979 Monterey, CaliforniaFriendly PlazaRedwood27 July 1976 Sacramento, CaliforniaCapitol ParkRedwoodApril 1976 San Luis Obispo, CaliforniaMission PlazaRedwood30 July 1976 Gainesville, FloridaUniversity of FloridaSycamorec. 1977 Keystone Heights, FloridaKeystone Heights LibrarySycamore1984 Perry, FloridaForest Capital State ParkLoblolly Pine29 April 1978 Tallahassee, FloridaCascades ParkSycamore Tallahassee, FloridaDoyle Conner BuildingLoblolly Pine1976 Athens, GeorgiaClarke County Planning Dept.Loblolly PineMay 1976 Macon, GeorgiaGeorgia Forestry CenterLoblolly Pine22 March 1976 Waycross, GeorgiaOkefenokee RESALoblolly Pine Boise, IdahoLowell Elementary SchoolLoblolly Pine1977 Cannelton, IndianaCamp Koch Girl Scout CampSycamore1976 Indianapolis, IndianaIndiana StatehouseSycamore9 April 1976 Lincoln City, IndianaLincoln State ParkSycamore1 May 1976 Atchison, KansasInternational Forest of FriendshipSycamore24 July 1976 Elmer, LouisianaPalustris Experimental ForestLoblolly PineApril 1976 Bethesda, MarylandSociety of American ForestersLoblolly Pine30 September 1975 Greenbelt, MarylandGoddard Space Flight CenterSycamore9 June 1977 Holliston, MassachusettsHolliston Police StationSycamore1982 Niles, MichiganFernwood Botanical GardensSycamore23 April 1976 Biloxi, MississippiPrivate ResidenceSycamore1974-75 Starkville, MississippiMississippi State UniversitySycamore1975 Wiggins, MississippiCamp Iti KanaSycamoreApril/May 1974 DeSoto, MissouriWalther ParkSycamore Santa Fe, New MexicoState Capitol BuildingDouglas Fir22 July 1976 Silver City, New MexicoGough ParkSycamore15 August 1976 Asheville, North CarolinaBotanical Gardens at AshevilleSycamore19 March 1976 Clyde, North CarolinaHaywood Community CollegeSycamore1976 Pisgah National Forest, North CarolinaCradle of ForestrySycamore18 October 1976 Jefferson County, OhioFriendship ParkSycamore29 July 1976 Corvallis OregonOregon State UniversityDouglas FirSpring, 1976 Eugene OregonUniversity of OregonDouglas Fir1976 Roseburg, OregonU.S. Veteran’s HospitalDouglas Fir3 May 1976 Salem, OregonState Capitol BuildingDouglas Fir30 April 1976 Salem, OregonPrivate Residence2 Douglas Firs1973 Coudersport, PennsylvaniaCoudersport Area Recreational ParkSycamoreLate 1970’s Dillsburg, PennsylvaniaDillsburg Elementary SchoolSycamore29 April 1983 Ebensburg, PennsylvaniaCambria County CourthouseSycamore29 June 1976 Hollidaysburg, PennsylvaniaHighland HallSycamore5 May 1976 King of Prussia, PennsylvaniaLockheed MartinSycamore30 June 1976 Newtown/Langhorne, PennsylvaniaCore Creek ParkSycamore30 April 1976 Topton, PennsylvaniaTopton Mini MuseumSycamore20 June 1976 Knoxville, TennesseeUniversity of TennesseeLoblolly PineApril 1976 Sewanee, TennesseeUniversity of the SouthSycamoreApril 1976 Westlake, TexasPrivate ResidenceSycamore1978 Draper, UtahLone Peak Conservation CenterSycamore1976 Bracey, VirginiaRiver Ridge CampgroundSycamoreUnknown Doswell, VirginiaKings Dominion Amusement ParkSycamore1976? Hampton, VirginiaPatrick Elementary SchoolSycamore30 April 1976 Loudoun County, VirginiaScott Jenkins Memorial ParkSweetgumSeptember 1978 Olympia, WashingtonState Capitol BuildingDouglas FirApril 1976 International City and CountryLocationType of TreePlanting Date Brasilia, BrazilIBAMA InstituteSweetgum14 January 1980 Cambara do Sul, BrazilPraça Central São JoséRedwood26 September 1982 Rio Grande do Sul, BrazilSanta RosaRedwood18 August 1981 Chavaniac, FranceChateau LafayetteSycamore status unknown1976 Status Unknown City and StateLocationType of TreePlanting Date San Francisco, CaliforniaStrybing ArboretumCoast Redwood status unknown22 July 1976 Savannah, GeorgiaUnknownSycamore status unknownUnknown Pocatello, IdahoIdaho State UniversityDouglas Fir status unknown18 May 1976 Springfield, IllinoisState CapitolSycamore status unknown29 April 1976 Des Moines, IowaState CapitolSycamore ? status unknown30 April 1976 Baton Rouge, LouisianaGovernor’s Mansion2 Loblolly Pines status unknown16 January 1976 Annapolis, MarylandTawes GardenSycamore status unknownUnknown Cleveland, MississippiDelta State UniversityStatus Unknown1976 Hattiesburg, MississippiUniversity of Southern Mississippi?Status Unknown1976 Missoula, MontanaUniversity of MontanaDouglas Fir Status Unknown17 July 1976 Nebraska City, NebraskaNational Arbor Day CenterStatus Unknown24 April 1976? Monmouth County, New JerseyMonmouth County CourthouseSycamore Status Unknown Albany, New YorkEmpire State PlazaSycamore status unknown1977? Brooklyn, New YorkFulton FerrySycamore status unknownJune 1976? Buffalo, New YorkDelaware Park LakeSycamore status unknown25 May 1977? Rome, New YorkFort StanwixSycamore status unknown1976? Elkton, OregonD.L. Phipps State Forest NurseryDouglas Fir status unknown Portland, OregonWestern Forestry CenterDouglas Fir Status Unknown25 May 1976 Emporium, PennsylvaniaCameron County CourthouseSycamore Status Unknown15 May 1976 Portersville, PennsylvaniaMoraine State ParkSycamore status unknown4 August 1977 No Longer Alive City and StateLocationType of TreePlanting Date Auburn University, AlabamaG.W. Andrews Forestry Sciences LabLoblolly Pine†, Sycamore†22 October 1976 Huntsville, AlabamaU.S. Space and Rocket Center5 Sycamores†, 2 Pines†29 October 1976 Flagstaff, ArizonaFlagstaff Jr. High SchoolDouglas Fir†30 April 1976 Little Rock, ArkansasForestry Commission HeadquartersLoblolly Pine†15 March 1976 Monticello, ArkansasUniversity of Arkansas at MonticelloLoblolly Pine†15 March 1976 El Dorado Hills, CaliforniaSt. Stephen’s Lutheran ChurchRedwood†1976 San Dimas, CaliforniaTechnology & Development CenterGiant Sequoia?†29 March 1977 Cape Canaveral, FloridaKennedy Space CenterSycamore†25 June 1976 Gainesville, FloridaUniversity of Florida2 Loblolly Pines†c. 1977 Boise, IdahoState CapitolDouglas fir†7 May 1976 Moscow, IdahoUniversity of IdahoSycamore† Tell City, IndianaForest Service Office2 Sweetgums†1976 New Orleans, LouisianaNew Orleans River WalkLoblolly Pine†June 1983 New Orleans, LouisianaNASA Michoud Assembly FacilityLoblolly Pine (2?)†July 1976 North Pembroke, MassachusettsHistorical SocietySycamore†April 1976 Jackson, MichiganDahlem Environmental Education CenterSycamore†22 April 1976 Lansing, MichiganState CapitolSycamore†22 April 1976 Wyoming, MichiganWyoming Police StationSycamore†23 April 1976 Waynesboro, MississippiForestry Commission NurserySycamore† Alamogordo, New MexicoInternational Space Hall of FameSycamore†5 October 1976 Albuquerque, New MexicoCivic PlazaDouglas Fir†7 April 1976 Capitan, New MexicoSmokey Bear State ParkSycamore†15 May 1976 Athens, OhioDistrict 4 HeadquartersSycamore†20 July 1976 Columbus, OhioCity NurserySycamore†1976 Illinois Valley, OregonSiskiyou Smoke Jumpers BaseDouglas Fir† Portland, OregonWorld Forestry CenterDouglas Fir† Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaWashington SquareSycamore†6 May 1975 Elizabethton, TennesseeSycamore Shoals State ParkSycamore†April 1976 Tullahoma, TennesseeArnold Air Force BaseLoblolly Pine†April 1976 College Station, TexasBrazos County ArboretumSycamore†21 March 1976 Salt Lake City, UtahState Capitol BuildingDouglas Fir† Doswell, VirginiaKings Dominion Amusement ParkSycamore†1976? Washington, D.C.White HouseLoblolly Pine†19 January 1977 Princeton, West VirginiaForestry Sciences LabSycamore†18 October 1975 † Trees no longer alive Featured Story Moon Trees Stand as Living Testaments to First Voyages to Moon The craters, mountains, and plains of the Moon stretched beneath the Apollo 14 Command and Service Module Kitty Hawk in… Read the Story Second-Generation Moon Trees Second-generation trees, either grown from seeds of mature Moon Trees or from cuttings, are also growing around the world and continue to be planted today. In memory of her father, Stuart Roosa’s daughter, Rosemary Roosa, has continued the legacy of the original Apollo 14 Moon Trees through promoting planting second-generation Moon Trees around the world. Locations of Second-Generation Moon Trees City and StateLocationType of TreePlanting Date Enterprise, AlabamaPrivate ResidenceSycamore15 February 2002 Enterprise, AlabamaPrivate ResidenceSycamore15 March 2003 Huntsville, AlabamaMarshall Space Flight CenterSycamore22 April 1996 Lancaster, CaliforniaLancaster Performing Arts CenterSycamore23 September 2009 Blue Lake, CaliforniaUltra Powers Co.Redwood  Lake Arrowhead, CaliforniaMSAS Astronomy VillageSycamoreMay 1999 Mountain View, CaliforniaPrivate ResidenceRedwoodJanuary, 1998 Tampa, FloridaMuseum of Science and IndustrySycamore16 November 1996 Hartwell, GeorgiaMadora Garden Club4 SycamoresSpring, 2006 Boise, IdahoNational Interagency Fire CenterSycamoreSpring, 2002 Libertyville, IllinoisAdler Park SchoolSycamore1 October 1997 Indianapolis, IndianaGreenbriar Elementary SchoolSycamore22 April 1999 Storm Lake, IowaLiving Heritage Tree MuseumSycamore  Louisville, KentuckyLouisville ZooSycamore  Stevensville, MarylandPrivate ResidenceSycamoreCirca 1997 Battle Creek, MichiganPrivate ResidenceSycamoreMay, 1998 Buchanan, MichiganPrivate ResidenceSycamore1996 Wyoming, MichiganWyoming Police StationSycamore†23 April 1976 Unionville, MissouriHistoric Tree MuseumSycamoreNovember, 1988 Wayne, New JerseyCyanamid CompanySycamore  Somers, New YorkLasdon Park and ArboretumSycamore  Greensboro, North CarolinaGuilford CollegeSycamoreSpring, 1995 Rowan County, North CarolinaSloan ParkSycamore  Canal Winchester, OhioPrivate ResidenceSycamoreAugust, 1996 Fairfield, OhioPaper Products CompanySycamore13 July 2016 Cave Junction, OregonSiskiyou Smoke Jumpers BaseDouglas Fir6 October 2012 Hockley, TexasPrivate ResidenceSycamore15 April 2002 Arlington, VirginiaArlington National CemeterySycamore9 February 2005 Flamstead, EnglandPrivate Residence?SycamoreSummer, 2008 Tradate, ItalyTradate Astronomical ObservatoryLoblolly Pine12 October 2011 Lucern, SwitzerlandSwiss Museum of TransportSycamore8 October 2011 † Trees no longer alive If you are seeking detailed information about the Moon trees listed here, contact marie.j.henderson@nasa.gov. Artemis Moon Trees A new generation of Moon Tree seeds traveled into lunar orbit aboard the Artemis I spacecraft in 2022. These Artemis Moon Tree seedlings have found homes with schools, museums, libraries, universities, and community organizations across the contiguous United States. In a nod to the legacy of Apollo 14, and a celebration of the future of space exploration with NASA’s Artemis Program, a “New generation” of Moon Tree seeds traveled into lunar orbit aboard the Orion spacecraft. The seeds travelled thousands of miles beyond the Moon spending about 4 weeks in space before returning to Earth.   NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement partnered with U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Services to fly five species of tree seeds aboard Artemis I as part of a national STEM Engagement and conservation education initiative. Through NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement (OSTEM) and NASA’s Artifact Module, museums, universities, federal agencies, including NASA Field Centers, and K–12 serving organizations were invited to apply for ownership of a Moon Tree seedling. Recipient distribution schedule aligned to four planting cycles: Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025, and Fall 2025. Artemis I Moon Tree Stewards Artemis I Moon Tree seedlings found new homes with schools, museums, libraries, universities, and community organizations across the United States. An open call to NASA’s Artifacts Module in Fall, 2023 welcomed over 1000 organization submissions, which were reviewed and ranked by a joint USDA Forest Service and NASA panel. View the List of Stewards Featured Story They Grow So Fast: Moon Tree Progress Since NASA’s Artemis I Mission In 2022 NASA’s Orion spacecraft returned to Earth with more than 2,000 tree seedlings sourced in a partnership with USDA… Read the Story Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA The Apollo Program Artemis NASA STEM Opportunities and Activities For Students NASA History The post Moon Trees appeared first on NASA Science.