In what was part experiment and part publicity stunt, an Apollo astronaut took a tin of tree seeds around the moon more than 50 years ago, and now the Artemis mission is doing it again.
In what was part experiment and part publicity stunt, an Apollo astronaut took a tin of tree seeds around the moon more than 50 years ago, and now the Artemis mission is doing it again.
There could be 15 trees throughout the UK grown from seeds that were flown around the moon by NASA on the Apollo 14 mission, and scientists are trying to find them.
The Moon Trees, grown from orbiting seeds flown in 1971, could be anywhere in the UK, including in private gardens, according to the Royal Astronomical Society.
NASA astronaut Stuart Roosa took 500 seeds from Sycamore, Loblolly Pine and other varieties of trees with him as the Apollo 14 capsule orbited the moon.
Most were planted in the US, but it is thought about 15 came to the UK - and now the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) and UK Space Agency are trying to find them.
Feb 09, 2021 11:04 PM EST
In 1971, approximately 500 seeds of various species were launched into orbit; it circled the moon 34 times before returning to Earth, where they were then planted in various locations across the globe.
NASA sent 400 to 500 seeds into space to see if they would be altered. In 1971, the seeds went along with the Apollo 14 mission and circled the moon 34 times. They planted them in the US, Europe, and South America. The spouted plant is referred to as Moon Trees by the agency, and there are 83 overall. Unfortunately, about a third of the trees have died since being planted in the 1970s.
Moon Trees are living testaments to mankind’s first trips to the Moon: Where are they now?
Updated Feb 08, 2021;
Posted Feb 08, 2021
A sycamore Moon Tree planted at Mississippi State University in 1975 is the parent tree to many second-generation trees called Half-Moon Trees.
Credits: NASA/Will Bryan
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In February 1971, onboard the Apollo 14 Command and Service Module Kitty Hawk, Command Module Pilot Stuart Roosa was conducting “observations, experiments, and scientific investigations” in lunar orbit, while his fellow crew members, Commander Alan Shepard and Lunar Module Pilot Edgar Mitchell explored the Fra Mauro formation on the Moon’s surface.
A statement by NASA History, on Feb. 4, recounts that 50 years ago onboard Kitty Hawk, in Roosa’s personal travel kit, was “a canister of approximately 400-500 loblolly pine, sweet gum, redwood, Douglas fir, and sycamore tree seeds.”