Moon trees are trees grown from seeds taken into orbit around the Moon, initially by Apollo 14 in 1971, and later by Artemis I in 2022. The idea was first proposed by Edward P. Cliff, then the chief of the United States Forest Service, who convinced Stuart Roosa, the Command Module Pilot on the Apollo 14 mission, to bring a small canister containing about 500 seeds aboard the module in 1971. Seeds for the experiment were chosen from five species of tree: loblolly pine, sycamore, sweetgum, redwood, and Douglas fir. In 2022, NASA announced it would be reviving the Moon tree program by carrying 1,000 seeds aboard Artemis I.
History After the flight, the seeds were sent to the southern Forest Service station in Gulfport, Mississippi, and to the western station in Placerville, California, with the intent to germinate them. Nearly all the seeds germinated successfully, and after a few years, the Forest Service had about 420 seedlings. Some of these were planted alongside their Earth-bound counterparts, which were specifically set aside as controls. After more than 40 years, there was no discernible difference between the two classes of trees. Most of the Moon trees were given away in 1975 and 1976 to state forestry organizations, in order to be planted as part of the nation's bicentennial celebration. Since the trees were all of southern or western species, not all states received trees. A Loblolly Pine was planted at the White House, and trees were planted in Brazil, Switzerland, and presented to Emperor Hirohito, among others.The locations of many of the trees that were planted from these seeds were largely unknown for decades. In 1996, a third-grade teacher, Joan Goble, and her students found a tree in their local area with a plaque identifying it as a Moon tree. Goble sent an email to NASA, and reached employee Dave Williams. Williams was unaware of the trees' existence, as were most of his colleagues at NASA. Upon doing some research, Williams found some old newspaper clippings that described the initial actions taken by Roosa to bring these seeds to space and home to be planted.We Almost Forgot About the Moon Trees: A collection of tree seeds that went round and round the moon was scattered far and wide back home , by Marina Koren. The seeds orbited the Moon, but were not landed on it. The Atlantic, January 31, 2022. Williams posted a page on NASA's official website asking for public help to find the trees. The page also contained a table listing the locations and species of known Moon trees. Williams began to hear from people around the United States who had seen trees with plaques identifying them as Moon trees. Williams began to manage a database listing details about such trees, including their location and species. In 2011, an article in Wired magazine described the effort, and provided Williams' email address, encouraging anyone to write who might have data on existing Moon trees.The Mystery of the Missing Moon Trees: 15 years after NASA astronomer David Williams started searching for them, hundreds of trees grown from space-faring seeds are still missing. The moon trees, whose seeds circled the moon 34 times in Apollo 14 astronaut Stuart Roosa‘s pocket, were welcomed back to Earth with great fanfare in 1971. February 10, 2011, wired.com. As of 2022, efforts were continuing to identify and locate existing trees; the NASA page remains active.The "Moon Trees" , official NASA website, accessed February 3, 2022.
In March 2021, the Royal Astronomical Society and the UK Space Agency asked for the help of the public to identify up to 15 Moon Trees that may be growing in the United Kingdom. As of April 2021, none of the trees that supposedly came to the UK have been identified.
Current efforts The Moon Tree Foundation is an organization run by Roosa's daughter, Rosemary, which seeks to plant Moon trees in regions around the world. The foundation sponsors and hosts ceremonies to plant new trees, with seeds produced by the original generation of trees that grew from the seeds carried by Roosa in 1971. Moon tree Planting ceremony, official website of Moon Tree Foundation, accessed February 3, 2022.
Locations
Apollo Moon Trees + Table key † Indicates a tree that is no longer alive. ‡Indicates the exact date of planting is unknown.
United States City State Location Species Date planted SalemPrivate Residence2 Douglas Firs1973 ‡WigginsGirl Scouts Camp Iti KanaSycamore1974 ‡StarkvilleDorman Hall, Mississippi State UniversitySycamore1975 ‡PhiladelphiaWashington Square Park Sycamore †May 6, 1975BethesdaSociety of American ForestersLoblolly PineSeptember 30, 1975PrincetonUSDA Forestry Sciences LaboratorySycamoreOctober 18, 1975Fort SmithSebastian County CourthouseLoblolly PineMarch 15, 1976Little RockForestry Commission HeadquartersLoblolly Pine †March 15, 1976MonticelloUniversity of Arkansas at MonticelloLoblolly Pine †March 15, 1976WashingtonHistoric Washington State ParkLoblolly PineMarch 15, 1976AshevilleBotanical Gardens at AshevilleSycamoreMarch 19, 1976College StationD. A. "Andy" Anderson ArboretumSycamore †March 21, 1976BirminghamBirmingham Botanical Gardens, near Lane ParkSycamoreApril 1976 ‡MontgomeryAlabama State Capitol BuildingLoblolly PineApril 1976 ‡North PembrokePembroke Historical SocietySycamore †April 1976 ‡ElmerPalustris Experiment Station, Kisatchie National ForestLoblolly PineApril 1976 ‡KnoxvilleForestry Experiment Station, University of TennesseeLoblolly PineApril 1976 ‡SewaneeWoods Laboratories, University of the SouthSycamoreApril 1976 ‡ElizabethtonFort Watauga, Sycamore Shoals State Historic AreaSycamore †April 1976 ‡TullahomaArnold Air Force BaseLoblolly Pine †April 1976 ‡OlympiaWashington State Capitol BuildingDouglas FirApril 1976 ‡AlbuquerqueHarry E. Kinney Civic PlazaDouglas Fir †April 7, 1976IndianapolisIndiana StatehouseSycamoreApril 9, 1976SacramentoCalifornia State Capitol BuildingRedwoodApril 21, 1976 LansingMichigan State Capitol BuildingSycamore †April 22, 1976WyomingWyoming Police DepartmentSycamore †April 23, 1976NilesFernwood Botanical Gardens and Nature PreserveSycamoreApril 23, 1976Salt Lake CityUtah State Capitol BuildingDouglas Fir †April 28, 1976FlagstaffFrances Short Pond, formerly Flagstaff Junior High SchoolDouglas Fir †April 30, 1976TucsonKuiper Space Sciences Building, University of ArizonaSycamoreApril 30, 1976Des MoinesIowa State Capitol BuildingSycamoreApril 30, 1976MiddletownCore Creek ParkSycamoreApril 30, 1976SalemOregon State Capitol BuildingDouglas FirApril 30, 1976HamptonAlbert W. Patrick III, Elementary SchoolSycamoreApril 30, 1976ArcataCalifornia State Polytechnic University, Humboldt3 RedwoodsMay 1976 ‡ Athens Athens-Clarke County Planning DepartmentLoblolly PineMay 1976 ‡Lincoln CityLincoln State ParkSycamoreMay 1, 1976RoseburgRoseburg Veteran Affairs Medical CenterDouglas FirMay 3, 1976HollidaysburgHighland HallSycamoreMay 5, 1976BoiseIdaho State Capitol BuildingDouglas Fir †May 7, 1976CapitanSmokey Bear State ParkSycamore †May 15, 1976ToptonBorough HallSycamoreJune 20, 1976Cape CanaveralKennedy Space CenterSycamore †June 25, 1976EbensburgCambria County CourthouseSycamoreJune 29, 1976King of PrussiaLockheed Martin Space Systems BuildingSycamoreJune 30, 1976MissoulaUniversity Center Mall, University of MontanaDouglas FirJuly 17, 1976New OrleansNASA Michoud Assembly FacilityLoblolly Pine †July 20, 1976Santa FeNew Mexico State Capitol BuildingDouglas FirJuly 22, 1976AtchisonInternational Forest of FriendshipSycamoreJuly 24, 1976BerkeleyNorthwest area of Tilden Nature Area2 RedwoodsJuly 26, 1976MontereyFriendly Plaza, near Colton HallRedwoodJuly 27, 1976SteubenvilleFriendship ParkSycamoreJuly 29, 1976San Luis ObispoMission PlazaRedwoodJuly 30, 1976TroyPioneer Museum of AlabamaLoblolly PineAugust 5, 1976Silver CityGough ParkSycamoreAugust 14, 1976AlamogordoNew Mexico Museum of Space HistorySycamore †October 5, 1976BrevardCradle of Forestry, Pisgah National ForestSycamoreOctober 18, 1976Multiple sources:TuscumbiaIvy Green, historic monument and birthplace of Helen KellerLoblolly PineOctober 19, 1976AuburnG.W. Andrews Forestry Sciences Lab, Auburn UniversityLoblolly Pine †October 22, 1976HuntsvilleU.S. Space and Rocket Center5 Sycamores, 2 Pines *October 29, 1976TuskegeeVeteran Affairs Hospital (CAVHCS) Loblolly Pine † 1976 ‡El Dorado HillsSt. Stephen's Lutheran ChurchRedwood †1976 ‡TallahasseeFlorida Department of AgricultureLoblolly Pine1976 ‡WaycrossOkefenokee Regional Educational Service AgencyLoblolly Pine1976 ‡CanneltonGirl Scouts Camp KochSycamore1976 ‡Tell CityHoosier National Forest Service Office2 Sweetgums1976 ‡ MonmouthMonmouth County CourthouseSycamore †1976 ‡ClydeDisc Golf Course, Haywood Community CollegeSycamore1976 ‡DraperLone Peak Conservation CenterSycamore1976 ‡ColumbusFranklin Park ConservatorySycamore †1976 ‡CorvallisPeavy Hall, Oregon State UniversityDouglas Fir1976 ‡Cave JunctionSiskiyou Smokejumper Base, Illinois Valley AirportDouglas Fir †1976 ‡EugeneErb Memorial Union, University of OregonDouglas Fir1976 ‡DoswellKings Dominion Amusement Park2 Sycamores (1 dead)1976 ‡Washington, D.C.Rose Garden, White House Loblolly Pine †January 19, 1977San DimasSan Dimas Technology and Development CenterRedwoodMarch 29, 1977GainesvilleUniversity of FloridaSycamore1977 ‡BoiseLowell Elementary SchoolLoblolly Pine1977 ‡GreenbeltGoddard Space Flight CenterSycamoreJune 9, 1977PerryForest Capital Museum State ParkLoblolly PineApril 29, 1978HamiltonScott Jenkins Memorial ParkSweetgumSeptember 1978 ‡WestlakePrivate ResidenceSycamore1978 ‡LockefordLockeford Plant Materials CenterRedwood1979 ‡HollistonHolliston Police StationSycamore1982 ‡DillsburgDillsburg Elementary SchoolSycamoreApril 29, 1983New OrleansNew Orleans River WalkLoblolly Pine †June 1983 ‡Keystone HeightsKeystone Heights LibrarySycamore1984 ‡PlanoPlano Senior High SchoolSycamore †November 4, 2009TallahasseeCascades ParkSycamoreUnknown ‡MoscowAdministration Building, University of IdahoSycamore †Unknown ‡WaynesboroForestry Commission NurserySycamoreUnknown ‡De SotoWalther ParkSycamoreUnknown ‡ElktonD.L. Phipps State Forest NurseryDouglas FirUnknown ‡CoudersportCoudersport Area Recreational ParkSycamoreUnknown ‡PiedmontPrivate ResidenceSycamoreUnknown ‡AustinPrivate ResidenceSycamoreUnknown ‡
Other countries City Country Location Species Date planted BrasíliaInstitute for Environment and Natural Renewable ResourcesSweetgum January 14, 1980Santa Rosa Soybean Fairgrounds, Parque Municipal de Exposições Redwood August 18, 1981Cambará do SulSt. Joseph Central SquareRedwoodSeptember 26, 1982
Artemis Moon Trees Distribution of Artemis moon trees began in the spring of 2024.
United States