The 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 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 "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. 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 smoke jumper 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 cannister. Control seeds were kept on Earth for later comparison. Roosa carried possibly 2000 or more seeds in the cannister 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. The Moon Tree shown at top left is a sycamore growing at Koch Girl Scout Camp in Cannelton, Indiana and at top right at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. A list of known Moon Tree locations can be found below. Stuart Roosa was born on 16 August 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's 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. Sadly, Stuart 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 Moon Trees are listed below, but no list was ever kept nor any systematic tracking made of the disposition of all the trees. If you know of a Moon Tree, please send a message to [email protected]. Moon Tree Locations City and State Location Type of Tree Planting Date Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham Botanical Gardens Sycamore 25 February 1976 Montgomery, Alabama State Capitol Loblolly Pine 19 April 1976 Troy, Alabama Pioneer Museum of Alabama Loblolly Pine 5 August 1976 Tuscumbia, Alabama Ivy Green Loblolly Pine 19 October 1976 Tuskegee, Alabama VA Medical Center Loblolly Pine 1976 Tucson Arizona University of Arizona Sycamore 30 April 1976 Ft. Smith, Arkansas Sebastian County Courthouse Loblolly Pine 15 March 1976 Washington, Arkansas Old Washington Historic State Park Loblolly Pine 15 March 1976 Arcata, California Humboldt State University 3 Redwoods 1976 Berkeley, California Tilden Nature Area 2 Redwoods 26 July 1976 Lockeford, California Lockeford Plant Materials Center Redwood 1979 Monterey, California Friendly Plaza Redwood 27 July 1976 Sacramento, California Capitol Park Redwood April 1976 San Luis Obispo, California Mission Plaza Redwood 30 July 1976 Gainesville, Florida University of Florida Sycamore c. 1977 Keystone Heights, Florida Keystone Heights Library Sycamore 1984 Perry, Florida Forest Capital State Park Loblolly Pine 29 April 1978 Tallahassee, Florida Cascades Park Sycamore Tallahassee, Florida Doyle Conner Building Loblolly Pine 1976 Athens, Georgia Clarke County Planning Dept. Loblolly Pine May 1976 Macon, Georgia Georgia Forestry Center Loblolly Pine 22 March 1976 Waycross, Georgia Okefenokee RESA Loblolly Pine Boise, Idaho Lowell Elementary School Loblolly Pine 1977 Cannelton, Indiana Camp Koch Girl Scout Camp Sycamore 1976 Indianapolis, Indiana Indiana Statehouse Sycamore 9 April 1976 Lincoln City, Indiana Lincoln State Park Sycamore 1 May 1976 Atchison, Kansas International Forest of Friendship Sycamore 24 July 1976 Elmer, Louisiana Palustris Experimental Forest Loblolly Pine April 1976 Bethesda, Maryland Society of American Foresters Loblolly Pine 30 September 1975 Greenbelt, Maryland Goddard Space Flight Center Sycamore 9 June 1977 Holliston, Massachusetts Holliston Police Station Sycamore 1982 Niles, Michigan Fernwood Botanical Gardens Sycamore 23 April 1976 Biloxi, Mississippi Private Residence Sycamore 1974-75 Starkville, Mississippi Mississippi State University Sycamore 1975 Wiggins, Mississippi Camp Iti Kana Sycamore April/May 1974 DeSoto, Missouri Walther Park Sycamore Santa Fe, New Mexico State Capitol Building Douglas Fir 22 July 1976 Silver City, New Mexico Gough Park Sycamore 15 August 1976 Asheville, North Carolina Botanical Gardens at Asheville Sycamore 19 March 1976 Clyde, North Carolina Haywood Community College Sycamore 1976 Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina Cradle of Forestry Sycamore 18 October 1976 Jefferson County, Ohio Friendship Park Sycamore 29 July 1976 Corvallis Oregon Oregon State University Douglas Fir Spring, 1976 Eugene Oregon University of Oregon Douglas Fir 1976 Roseburg, Oregon U.S. Veteran's Hospital Douglas Fir 3 May 1976 Salem, Oregon State Capitol Building Douglas Fir 30 April 1976 Salem, Oregon Private Residence 2 Douglas Firs 1973 Coudersport, Pennsylvania Coudersport Area Recreational Park Sycamore Late 1970's Dillsburg, Pennsylvania Dillsburg Elementary School Sycamore 29 April 1983 Ebensburg, Pennsylvania Cambria County Courthouse Sycamore 29 June 1976 Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania Highland Hall Sycamore 5 May 1976 King of Prussia, Pennsylvania Lockheed Martin Sycamore 30 June 1976 Newtown/Langhorne, Pennsylvania Core Creek Park Sycamore 30 April 1976 Topton, Pennsylvania Topton Mini Museum Sycamore 20 June 1976 Knoxville, Tennessee University of Tennessee Loblolly Pine April 1976 Sewanee, Tennessee University of the South Sycamore April 1976 Westlake, Texas Private Residence Sycamore 1978 Draper, Utah Lone Peak Conservation Center Sycamore 1976 Bracey, Virginia River Ridge Campground Sycamore Unknown Doswell, Virginia Kings Dominion Amusement Park Sycamore 1976? Hampton, Virginia Patrick Elementary School Sycamore 30 April 1976 Loudoun County, Virginia Scott Jenkins Memorial Park Sweetgum September 1978 Olympia, Washington State Capitol Building Douglas Fir April 1976 International Brasilia, Brazil IBAMA Institute Sweetgum 14 January 1980 Cambara do Sul, Brazil Praça Central São José Redwood 26 September 1982 Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil Santa Rosa Redwood 18 August 1981 Chavaniac, France Chateau Lafayette Sycamore status unknown 1976 Status Unknown San Francisco, California Strybing Arboretum Coast Redwoodstatus unknown 22 July 1976 Savannah, Georgia Unknown Sycamorestatus unknown Unknown Pocatello, Idaho Idaho State University Douglas Firstatus unknown 18 May 1976 Springfield, Illinois State Capitol Sycamorestatus unknown 29 April 1976 Des Moines, Iowa State Capitol Sycamore ? status unknown 30 April 1976 Baton Rouge, Louisiana Governor's Mansion 2 Loblolly Pinesstatus unknown 16 January 1976 Annapolis, Maryland Tawes Garden Sycamorestatus unknown Unknown Cleveland, Mississippi Delta State University Status Unknown 1976 Hattiesburg, Mississippi University of Southern Mississippi? Status Unknown 1976 Missoula, Montana University of Montana Douglas Fir Status Unknown 17 July 1976 Nebraska City, Nebraska National Arbor Day Center Status Unknown 24 April 1976? Monmouth County, New Jersey Monmouth County Courthouse Sycamore Status Unknown Albany, New York Empire State Plaza Sycamorestatus unknown 1977? Brooklyn, New York Fulton Ferry Sycamorestatus unknown June 1976? Buffalo, New York Delaware Park Lake Sycamorestatus unknown 25 May 1977? Rome, New York Fort Stanwix Sycamorestatus unknown 1976? Elkton, Oregon D.L. Phipps State Forest Nursery Douglas Fir status unknown Portland, Oregon Western Forestry Center Douglas Fir Status Unknown 25 May 1976