- Moon tree
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Bicentennial Moon Tree, planted in 1975 in Washington Square, Philadelphia
Moon trees are trees grown from 500 seeds taken into orbit around the moon by Stuart Roosa during the Apollo 14 mission in 1971.[1] As the Command Module Pilot on the Apollo 14 mission, and because he was a former smoke jumper, Roosa was contacted by Ed Cliff, who was the Chief of the Forest Service[2] at the time, and who proposed the idea of taking the seeds along. Seeds for the experiment were chosen from five different types of trees: Loblolly Pine, Sycamore, Sweetgum, Redwood, and Douglas Fir.[1]
Trees used
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 the Forest Service had some 420 to 450 seedlings after a few years. Some of these were planted alongside their earth-bound counterparts, which were specifically set aside as controls. After over twenty years there is no discernible difference between the two classes of trees. Most of the "Moon trees" were given away in 1975 and 1976 to many state forestry organizations, in order to be planted as part of the nation's bicentennial celebration. Since the trees were all of southern and 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 the Emperor of Japan, among others.[1]
City and State Location Type of Tree Planting Date Auburn University,
AlabamaG.W. Andrews Forestry Sciences Lab Loblolly Pine 22 October 1976 Birmingham,
AlabamaBirmingham Botanical Garden Sycamore April 1976 Montgomery,
AlabamaState Capitol Loblolly Pine April 1976 Troy,
AlabamaPioneer Museum of Alabama Loblolly Pine 5 August 1976 Tuscumbia,
AlabamaIvy Green Loblolly Pine 19 October 1976 Flagstaff,
ArizonaFlagstaff Jr. High School Douglas Fir 30 April 1976 University of Arizona, Tucson
ArizonaKuiper Space Sciences Building Sycamore 30 April 1976 Ft. Smith,
ArkansasSebastian County Courthouse Loblolly Pine 15 March 1976 Washington,
ArkansasOld Washington Historic State Park Loblolly Pine 15 March 1976 Arcata,
CaliforniaHumboldt State University 3 Redwoods Berkeley,
CaliforniaTilden Nature Area Redwood 26 July 1976 Monterey,
CaliforniaFriendly Plaza Redwood July 1976 San Luis Obispo,
CaliforniaMission Plaza Redwood 30 July 1976 Cape Canaveral,
FloridaKennedy Space Center Sycamore 25 June 1976 Gainesville,
FloridaUniversity of Florida Sycamore Perry,
FloridaForest Capital Museum State Park Loblolly Pine 26 April 1978 Tallahassee,
FloridaCascades Park Sycamore Tallahassee,
FloridaDoyle Conner Building Loblolly Pine Boise,
IdahoLowell Elementary School Loblolly Pine 1977 Moscow,
IdahoUniversity of Idaho Sycamore Cannelton,
IndianaCamp Koch Girl Scout Camp Sycamore 1976 Indianapolis,
IndianaIndiana Statehouse Sycamore 9 April 1976 Lincoln City,
IndianaLincoln State Park Sycamore 1 May 1976 Tell City,
IndianaForest Service Office 2 Sweetgums 1976 Atchison,
KansasInternational Forest of Friendship Sycamore Elmer,
LouisianaPalustris Experimental Forest Loblolly Pine April 1976 New Orleans,
LouisianaNew Orleans River Walk Loblolly Pine June 1983 Bethesda,
MarylandSociety of American Foresters Loblolly Pine 30 September 1975 Greenbelt,
MarylandGoddard Space Flight Center Sycamore 9 June 1977 Holliston,
MassachusettsHolliston Police Station Sycamore April 1976 Mississippi St. Univ.,
MississippiDorman Hall Sycamore 1975 Waynesboro,
MississippiForestry Commission Nursery Sycamore DeSoto,
MissouriWalthers Park Sycamore Pisgah National Forest,
North CarolinaCradle of Forestry Sycamore South Brunswick,
New JerseySouth Brunswick High School Sycamore Jefferson County,
OhioFriendship Park Sycamore 29 July 1976 University of Oregon, Eugene
OregonErb Memorial Union Douglas Fir Roseburg,
OregonU.S. Veteran's Hospital Douglas Fir 3 May 1976 Oregon State University, Corvallis
OregonPeavy Hall Douglas Fir 1976 Salem,
OregonState Capitol Building Douglas Fir 30 April 1976 Salem,
OregonPrivate Residence 2 Douglas Firs 1973 Ebensburg,
PennsylvaniaCambria County Courthouse Sycamore 29 June 1976 Hollidaysburg,
PennsylvaniaHighland Hall Sycamore 5 May 1976 King of Prussia,
PennsylvaniaLockheed Martin Space Systems Building Sycamore 30 June 1976 Newtown/Langhorne,
PennsylvaniaCore Creek Park Sycamore 30 April 1976 Philadelphia,
PennsylvaniaWashington Square Sycamore* 6 May 1975 Knoxville,
TennesseeUniversity of Tennessee Loblolly Pine April 1976 Sewanee,
TennesseeUniversity of the South Sycamore April 1976 Tullahoma,
TennesseeArnold Air Force Base Loblolly Pine April 1976 Olympia,
WashingtonState Capitol Building Douglas Fir Huntsville,
AlabamaU.S. Space and Rocket Center 5 Sycamores,
2 Pines *29 October 1976 Tuskegee,
AlabamaVA Hospital (CAVHCS) Loblolly Pine * 1976 Little Rock,
ArkansasForestry Commission Headquarters Loblolly Pine * 15 March 1976 Monticello,
ArkansasUniversity of Arkansas at Monticello Loblolly Pine * 1977? New Orleans,
LouisianaNASA Michoud Assembly Facility Loblolly Pine (2?) * July 1976 North Pembroke,
MassachusettsHistorical Society Sycamore? * April 1976 Albuquerque,
New MexicoCivic Plaza Douglas Fir * Illinois Valley,
OregonSiskiyou Smoke Jumper Base Douglas Fir * Washington,
D.C.White House Loblolly Pine * 19 January 1977 Plano, Texas Plano Senior High School Sycamore 4 November 2009 An asterisk (*) mark denotes a tree that is no longer alive.
References
- ^ a b c Williams, David R. (28 July 2009). "The "Moon Trees"". Goddard Space Flight Center. NASA. http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/moon_tree.html. Retrieved 7 August 2009.
- ^ Williams, Gerald; Severance, Carol; Lewis, James G. (2009-06-18). "Chiefs of the U.S. Forest Service". Forest History Society. http://www.foresthistory.org/ASPNET/People/Chiefs.aspx. Retrieved 7 August 2009.
External links
Categories:- Apollo program
- Individual trees
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