About 500 seeds of various tree species were launched into space in 1971, which circled around the moon 34 times before returning to Earth, where they were then planted in various places around the world.
NASA has shared a map showing the locations of these “lunar trees”, which total 83, living mainly in the US, with two in South America and one in Europe.
The collection includes redwoods, Douglas firs, sycamores, sweets and lobloli pines, but about a third have died since they were planted in the 1970s.
The mission was part of Apollo 14, and as astronauts Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell went to the moon, Stuart Roosa orbited above in the command module with the seeds sitting on his personal kit.
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NASA shared a map showing the locations of these “lunar trees”, totaling 83, living mainly in the US, with two in South America and one in Europe. Dr. Michele Tobias of the University of California Davis has created a detailed map of NASA’s lunar trees (pictured)
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 14 mission, which was the third to land on the moon and the first to land in the lunar mountains.
During the mission, the seeds were sorted and sorted, and the control seeds were kept on Earth for comparison.
The space seeds were placed in Rossa’s kit, but the canister was opened during the decontamination procedure after the crew returned to earth, leaving many unusable for the experiment.
“The resulting seedlings were planted throughout the United States (often as part of the nation’s bicentennial in 1976) and around the world. They are a tribute to the astronaut Roosa and the Apollo program, “NASA said in a statement.
About 500 seeds of various tree species were launched into space in 1971, which circled around the moon 34 times before returning to Earth, where they were then planted in various places around the world. In the picture is a sycamore, sprouted from a “space seed”. It was planted in 1975 at Mississippi State University
The mission was part of Apollo 14, and as astronauts Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell went to the moon, Stuart Roosa orbited higher in the command module with the seeds in his personal kit.
Dr. Michele Tobias of the University of California Davis has created a detailed map of lunar trees around the world.
“A few months ago I found out about the trees of the month watching an episode of Huell Howser on KVIE public television and then I visited the one on the territory of the California State Capitol,” Tobias said in 2016.
“I later found out from my aunt that my grandfather was part of the telemetry crew that recovered the Apollo 14 mission carrying the seeds that were to become the Moon Trees, so there’s a connection to that idea.”
NASA put the seeds in the care of the US Forest Service, which monitored them until they sprouted – but some were not planted until years after the mission.
NASA put the seeds in the care of the US Forest Service, which monitored them until they sprouted – but some were not planted until years after the mission
In a telegram to the planting ceremonies of the bicentennial lunar trees in the United States, then President Gerald Ford said: “This tree carried by astronauts Stuart Roosa, Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell on their mission to the moon, is a living symbol of our spectacular human and scientific achievements. ‘
“It’s a fitting tribute to our national space program, which has brought out the best in American patriotism, dedication and determination to succeed.”
However, over the years, the public has forgotten about trees, along with NASA, but former astronaut David Williams made his personal mission in 1996 to find and catalog them all.
He started with a list of 22 monthly trees and followed 80, although 21 of them died.
Three more have recently been added to the list, bringing the total to 83, but a third is now dead.
However, William said that the fate of many trees probably had nothing to do with their space travel.
In a telegram to the planting ceremonies of the bicentennial lunar trees in the United States, then President Gerald Ford said: “This tree carried by astronauts Stuart Roosa, Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell on their mission to the moon, is a living symbol of our spectacular human and scientific achievements
Compared to the seeds that never burst, “there was no detectable difference at all, which anyone would have expected,” Williams told Atlas Obscura.
A Loblolly pine was planted at the White House, and the 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, the Valley Forge, the International Friendship Forest and various NASA universities and centers.
With others at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland
The first lunar tree, a sycamore tree, was planted in 1974 at Iti Kana Camp, a recreational resort used by Girl Scouts in Mississippi.
WHAT WAS THE APOLLO PROGRAM?
The NASA photo taken on July 16, 1969 shows the huge Apollo 11 Spacecraft 107 / Lunar Module S / Saturn 506 spacecraft raised from Pad A, Launch Complex 39. Kennedy Space Center (KSC), 9:32 am (EDT) .
Apollo was NASA’s program launched in 1961 and received the first man on the moon eight years later.
The first four flights tested the equipment for the Apollo Program and six of the other seven flights managed to land on the moon.
The first mission equipped on the moon was Apollo 8, which circled around it on Christmas Eve 1968, but did not land.
The Apollo 9 crew spent ten days orbiting the Earth and completed the first manned flight of the lunar module – the section of the Apollo missile that would later land on Neil Armstrong on the moon.
The Apollo 11 mission was the first to land on the moon on July 20, 1969.
The capsule landed on the Sea of Peace, carrying mission commander Neil Armstrong and pilot Buzz Aldrin.
Armstrong and Aldrin went on the lunar surface while Michael Collins remained in orbit around the moon.
When Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon, he said, “This is a small step for (a) man; a huge step for humanity. ‘
Apollo 12 landed later that year, on November 19, on the Ocean of Storms, writes NASA.
Apollo 13 was to be the third mission to land on the moon, but just under 56 hours of flight, an explosion of the oxygen tank forced the crew to cancel the monthly landing and move to the lunar module Aquarius to return to Earth.
Apollo 15 was the ninth monthly manned space mission in the Apollo space program and was considered the most successful manned space flight at the time due to its long duration and greater emphasis on scientific exploration than had been possible in previous missions. .
The last Apollo lunar landing took place in 1972 after a total of 12 astronauts touched the lunar surface.
Astronaut Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin conducted experiments on the lunar module during the Apollo 11 mission. Photographed by Neil Armstrong, July 20, 1969