The Apollo 14 crew flew their mission to the Moon this week 50 years ago. Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell were the third pair of astronauts to walk on the lunar surface. They held two lunar walks in the Fra Mauro Highlands, collected rocks and set up scientific experiments, as well as broadcasting the first color TV images of the Moon.
Meanwhile, Stuart Roosa remained in the job as the Command Module pilot. But Roosa was not alone while circling above the moon.
In his personal preference kit, Roosa brought along five types of tree seeds, about 400 seeds in total. After the mission, the seeds were germinated and grown, with between 200 and 300 seedlings and saplings planted across the country and around the world, between 1975 and the early 1980s. But exactly where all those ‘Moon Trees’ were planted were lost. NASA tried to locate and document one of the trees, and to determine if it was still alive.
“It’s possible that you will live near a moon tree and that you do not know it,” said NASA scientist Dave Williams, who works at Goddard Spaceflight Center.
Williams documented the location of about 80 of these trees. If anyone knows of a moon tree or remembers attending a planting ceremony for a moon tree that is not yet on his list, Williams would love to hear from you.
The story of the moon trees began before Stuart Roosa became an astronaut. He served as a smoke jumper for the U.S. Forest Service, and parachuting into areas to combat wildfires. After Roosa was chosen to be part of Apollo 14, the Forest Service approached him and asked if he would consider being part of a small experiment: would he bring tree seeds to the moon, and after the flight would the Forest Service supervise keep the project to see if the seeds would germinate after they were weightless.
“The seeds were kept in a container that was as big as a soda can, and it was sealed so it was never in the air,” Williams said. “They also had seeds left on earth, so they planned a kind of controlled experiment, but no one really expected there to be a difference in the seeds.”
However, everything brought from the Moon had to be disinfected in a vacuum chamber, and during the disinfection process the seed jugs burst open, with the seed spreading – and the seed therefore being exposed to vacuum – which was not part of the original experiment!
“The seeds were germinated and grown in greenhouses,” Williams said, “and in a sense they did a scientific experiment, but it was primarily a kind of PR.”
The seedlings and saplings were given to members of Congress and foreign ambassadors. They have been planted in city halls, parks, and libraries, as well as in NASA centers, universities, and U.S. capitals.
There were five different types of tree seeds: Loblolly Pine, Sycamore, Sweetgum, Redwood and Douglas Fir. A Loblolly Pine, meanwhile dead, has been planted in the White House. Trees were planted in Brazil, Switzerland and presented to the Emperor of Japan, among others.
The first moon tree ever planted was a Sycamore in Washington Square in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1975 in preparation for the American Bicentennial in 1976. The original tree planted there died, but a clone was planted in 2011; the clone did not thrive and was removed in 2019. The original memorial plaque still remains, with plans to plant another clone tree.
There were plans to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 14 flight at Goddard Space Flight Center, where another moon tree was planted, but the plans went through due to the pandemic.
From personal experience, seeing and touching a moon tree is a wonderful experience, beautifully connecting to both the Apollo program and the effect it has had on our appreciation for our own planet Earth. I had the chance to visit three lunar trees: one in Kennedy Space Center (KSC now has a “Moon Tree Garden”), the clone in Philadelphia a few years ago and another Sycamore at the University of Arizona’s campus in Tucson, just outside the Flandrau Science Center & Planetarium. The Tree was shown to me by Geoff Notkin, author, adventurer and co-star of the Discovery Channel’s Meteorite Men series. Notkin is also the president of the National Space Society and is CEO of Aerolite Meteorites Inc., a company that supplies meteorite samples to researchers, museums and collectors worldwide.
“I was long fascinated by the Moon Tree story, and after moving to Tucson, I was almost speechless to discover that there was a Moon Tree in my adopted hometown!” Notkin said. He agrees that seeing a moon tree is an experience in itself.
“It was almost a metaphysical experience to place my hand on the trunk of the tree, which grew from a seed flown to the moon,” he said. ‘I held a number of space rocks in my hands – both NASA monsters and lunar meteorites – and I have to say, none of them were as exciting as touching the lunar tree! Something in me was deeply connected to Stuart Roosa’s story and the idea of taking this seed to the Moon. ”
Notkin is working on a book about the moon trees and Stuart Roosa’s story (Roosa sadly passed away in 1994), in an attempt to tell the whole story and possibly find more of the trees. But hunting for more lunar trees can be just as challenging as hunting for meteorites. Without good records of where all the trees were planted, the location of the trees today is mostly unknown.
“As lovers of space travel, we’re mostly caught up in the technical aspects of space travel,” Notkin told me. ‘But to me it’s so enchanting that this experiment has a tangible natural history. These trees are there – all over the world – and in their quiet way they celebrate the power of the Apollo program. ”
If you know of additional lunar trees not yet listed here, or if you remember attending a lunar tree planting ceremony, consult this NASA website on how to obtain your documentation. If you have a Moon Tree story, we’d love to hear it! Share your story in the comments below or on Universe Today’s social media sites.
Lead image caption: The memorial plaque at Washington Square in Philadelphia to commemorate the planting of the first moon tree.
