NASA is searching for education and community organizations to assist grow a practical forest of trees with a novel pedigree — the moon.
Inspired by an Apollo program astronaut’s initiative, the space agency and U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Forest Service want to plant seedlings that were grown from seeds flown across the moon on NASA’s Artemis 1 mission in 2022.
Greater than 1,000 seeds of 5 different species of tree were flown as a part of the official flight kit on the 26-day uncrewed test flight. The Artemis program has the goal of building a sustainable technique of returning astronauts to the moon in preparation for sending humans to Mars.
“Last yr, these seeds flew on the Artemis I mission 40,000 miles [64,375 km] beyond the moon. With the assistance of the USDA, this latest generation of ‘moon trees’ will plant the spirit of exploration across our communities and encourage the subsequent generation of explorers.” said Bill Nelson, NASA’s Administrator, in an announcement. “NASA’s Artemis moon trees are bringing the science and ingenuity of space exploration back right down to Earth.”
In 1971, Apollo 14 command module pilot Stuart Roosa, a former Forest Service smoke jumper, carried tons of of tree seeds as a component of his personal preference kit. Following the moon mission’s return to Earth, the Forest Service germinated the seeds. The Apollo moon tree seedlings were planted across the country, many as a part of the U.S. bicentennial celebration in 1976.
Now, it’s NASA’s hope that a brand new generation of moon trees will take root and carry on the legacy of inspiration launched greater than 50 years ago. The seeds that journeyed 270,000 miles [435,000 km] from Earth on the Artemis I Orion spacecraft included sycamores, sweetgums, Douglas-firs, loblolly pines and giant sequoias. Through the care of the Forest Service, the seeds were germinated and grown into seedlings in preparation for his or her latest roles as Artemis moon trees.
“The seeds that flew on the Artemis mission will soon be moon trees standing proudly on campuses and institutions across the country,” said Randy Moore, Forest Service chief. “These future moon trees, like people who got here before them, function a potent symbol that once we put our mind to a task, there may be nothing we won’t accomplish. They may encourage future generations of scientists, whose research underpins all that we do here on the Forest Service.”
Schools, libraries, museums and others engaging with students or the general public are encouraged to use for a moon tree seedling through NASA’s Artifact Module. Eligible institutions include formal and informal K-12-serving organizations, universities, community organizations, science centers and government agencies.
The applying period closes on Oct. 6.
NASA and the Forest Service will review submitted applications to find out the viability to successfully host a seedling; the Forest Service will discover the seedling species for chosen recipients based on nation-state within the contiguous United States. NASA is working with the Forest Service to discover timelines for seedling distribution in 2023 and 2024.
By planting the Artemis moon trees, NASA is creating latest ways for communities across the country to attach with humanity’s exploration of space.