Tucson, we have a moon tree.

Tucson Bicentennial Moon Tree

The seed that traveled to space is now “a living symbol[s] of our spectacular human and scientific achievements. It is a fitting tribute to our national space program which has brought out the best of American patriotism, dedication and determination to succeed” This statement was made by President Ford in a telegram sent out for the planting ceremonies taking place all over the country for The United States’ bicentennial celebration.¹ You can visit Tucson’s Sycamore Bicentennial Moon Tree at the University of Arizona near the Flandrau Science Center/Planetarium and the Kuiper Space Sciences Building. The plaque next to the tree reads, “Bicentennial Moon Tree. This seedling was grown from the very seeds that journeyed to the moon and back on board the Apollo 14. It symbolizes the major role forests played in developing our American Heritage and the vital role forests have in our future. This planting made possible by: State Forester of Arizona, U.S. Forest Service and NASA. April 30 1976.”²

Plaque

History

Tucson’s sycamore seed went to space on the 31 of January 1971 aboard the Apollo 14. The moon seeds traveled 228,900 miles and orbited the moon 34 times. The astronauts on board were Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell, and Stuart Roosa. This mission was the third successful lunar landing. Shepard and Mitchell landed on the moon’s surface while Roosa and the moon seeds stayed in orbit aboard the Kitty Hawk Command Module. Roosa took high resolution photos of the Descartes Region which helped guide the future Apollo 16 mission. Meanwhile Shepard and Mitchell collected rocks of the Fra Mauro Formation for geologists to determine when the impact that formed the Imbrium Basin occurred. The astronauts also set up scientific instruments that would study lunar seismic activity, atmosphere, and solar winds. The crew and seeds landed safely back on Earth on Feb 9th, 1971.³

Previous to the launch, the Forest Service contacted Roosa about an experiment involving taking tree seeds into space. In the past Roosa had worked for the Forest Service as a smoke jumper fighting fires. So Roosa agreed, and Stan Krugman staff director for forest genetics research of the US Forest Service was put in charge of the experiment. Krugman would later say, "It was part science, part publicity stunt.”⁴ Krugman started by selecting the seeds of five different tree species, Loblolly Pine, Sycamore, Sweetgum, Redwood, and Douglas fir. Control seeds from the same year and species were kept on Earth for later comparison. Roosa traveled with hundreds of these seeds during the lunar mission. The seeds were packed into Roosa’s personal preference kit. Pilots usually carry photos of loved ones or souvenirs in their PPKs yet Roosa chose to carry these tree seeds. Upon the Apollo 14’s return to Earth on February 9th, 1971, the astronauts and their gear were quarantined. During decontamination the experiment went a step further when the seeds were exposed to vacuum and scattered in the chamber after the bag burst. Krugman sorted out the seeds by species and sent them on their next adventure, to see if they could still grow.⁵

The Forest Service’s germinating attempts of the moon seeds in Houston was successful. However, the Houston station was not equipped to keep the seedlings alive and after a year they were sent to the facilities in Gulfport Mississippi and Placerville California. Some moon seedlings were planted next to the control seedlings. After 40 years no discernable differences were discovered.⁶ Some of the seedlings were also gifted as part of the United States’ bicentennial celebration. Tucson’s sycamore moon tree, as part of the celebration, was transplanted at the University of Arizona on the 30th of April 1976.⁷

Current

Tucson’s moon tree is still alive as of April 2022, 46 years after its dedication. However, several of these moon trees have died. According to Dave Williams’ most recent tree count, 40 of the known trees are dead. (See Footnote 6) Including the Loblolly Pine that resided at the White House. The Douglas Fir moon tree that was planted at a Jr. High in Flagstaff Arizona was destroyed only three days after transplanting.⁸ Dave Williams is an employee at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s National Space Science Data Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Williams has made it his quest to locate as many of these trees as possible. "I think when people are aware of the heritage of the trees, they usually take steps to preserve them," said Williams during a discussion of a moon tree that was nearly knocked down during a building renovation. "But sometimes people aren't aware. That's why we want to locate as many as we can soon. We want to have a record…before they're gone." Unfortunately, many of the locations of these moon trees remain unknown. "Hundreds of moon trees were distributed as seedlings," says Williams, "but we don't have systematic records showing where they all went."⁹

Williams was made aware of the moon trees’ existence by a third-grade class. Joan Gable, the third-grade teacher, contacted Dave Williams about a tree her class found at Camp Koch Girl Scout Camp in Cannelton, Indiana with a sign that read, “moon tree.” (See Footnote 9) Williams has since dedicated a vast amount of effort and time into finding these trees. In 1996, after Williams was made aware of moon trees, only 22 locations were known. That number has increased to over 100. If you find one you can email [email protected]. Known locations include the states Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia as well as the countries of Brazil, Switzerland, and France. The then Emperor Shōwa of Japan was also gifted a moon tree.

The Moon Tree Foundation continues the legacy of the Moon Trees and our space program by presenting descendants of the original trees. These are referred to as half-moon trees. The foundation was started by Stuart Roosa’s daughter. The Moon Tree Foundation’s mission is “to inspire interest in education, science, space, conservation and peace for all mankind. Our motto is Planting the seeds of Inspiration with the goal to unite, inspire, and conserve by planting a Moon Tree in every corner of the world.”¹⁰ The continued efforts of NASA employee Dave Williams and The Moon Tree Foundation have helped preserve the history of these living symbols. Williams described the moon trees, "…think of the Moon Trees as a tribute to Roosa and to the Apollo program; as the trees continue to grow, reaching back towards the Moon they once circled."¹¹

Sources

 ¹ "Moon Tree Telegram" Curated by David Williams 14 October 1999 https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/moon_trees/ford_telegram.html

² The Historical Marker Database https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=83012

³ "Apollo 14 Lunar Overview" Lunar and Planetary Institute https://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/missions/apollo/apollo_14/

⁴ "In Search of Moon Trees" Published by Dana Bolles 13 August 2002 https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2002/13aug_moontrees

⁵ "Stuart Roosa and the Moon Tree Seeds" Curated by David Williams 1 March 2022 https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/moon_trees/roosa_moon_tree_seeds.html

⁶ "The Moon Trees" Curated by David Williams 18 March 2022 https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/moon_tree.html

⁷ "The Life of the Moon Tree on Campus" Written by Emily Litvack 28 October 2015 https://news.arizona.edu/story/the-life-of-the-moon-tree-on-campus

⁸ "Flagstaff Junior High School Moon Tree" Curated by David Williams 28 October 2015 https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/moon_trees/flagstaff_tree.html

⁹ "A Race Against Time to Find Apollo 14's Lost Voyagers" 09 Feb 2011 https://www.nasa.gov/topics/history/features/moon-trees.html

¹⁰ The Moon Tree Foundation https://www.moontreefoundation.com/

¹¹ "Moon Trees: Legacy of Apollo 14 Links Earth and Space" Written by Leonard David 07 May 2001https://web.archive.org/web/20050914125419/http://www.space.com/news/spacehistory/moon_trees_010509.html