Artemis Moon Trees

In 1971, NASA astronaut Stuart Roosa, a former US Department of Agriculture Forest Services smoke jumper, carried tree seeds into lunar orbit during the Apollo 14 mission. The The US Department of Agriculture Forest Services grew those seeds into seedlings, and the distributed the resulting ‘Moon Trees’ to national monuments and dignitaries around the world, with a large number distributed as part of the United States Bicentennial events.  

I tell the story of the original Apollo Moon Trees in an exclusive Gardeners of the Galaxy podcast episode for my Patreon supporters.

A new generation of Moon Tree seeds travelled into lunar orbit aboard the Orion spacecraft during the Artemis I mission in 2022. They travelled thousands of miles beyond the Moon, spending about 4 weeks in space before returning to Earth.  

Since then, the tree seeds have been growing under the care of the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) Forest Service, as NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement’s Next Generation STEM project and the agency’s Office of Strategic Infrastructure’s Logistics Management division worked to identify their new homes.

After careful review of hundreds of applications, NASA has selected organizations from across the country to receive Moon Tree seedlings to plant in their communities. Notifications to selected institutions will be made in phases, with the first beginning this spring, followed by notifications in fall 2024, spring 2025, and fall 2025.

NASA chose institutions based on criteria that evaluated their suitability to care for the various tree species and their ability to maximize educational opportunities around the life and growth of the tree in their communities.

“A new era of Moon trees will one day stand tall in