Apollo 14 Moon Trees

Apollo 14 launched in the late afternoon of January 31, 1971 on what was to be our third trip to the lunar surface. Five days later Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell walked on the Moon while Stuart Roosa, a former U.S. Forest Service (USFS) smoke jumper, orbited above in the command module. Packed in small containers in Roosa’s personal kit were hundreds of tree seeds, part of a joint NASA/USFS project. Upon return to Earth, the seeds were germinated by the Forest Service. Known as the Apollo “Moon Trees”, the resulting seedlings were planted throughout the United States (often as part of the nation’s bicentennial in 1976) and the world. They stand as a tribute to astronaut Roosa and the Apollo program.

The project began after Roosa was chosen for the Apollo 14 mission. Ed Cliff, Chief of the Forest Service, knew of Stuart Roosa from his days as a smokejumper and contacted him about bringing seeds into space. Stan Krugman of the Forest Service was put in charge of the project and selected the seeds for the experiment. Seeds were chosen from five different types of trees: loblolly pine, sycamore, sweetgum, redwood, and Douglas fir. The seeds were classified and sorted, and sealed in small plastic bags that were stored in a metal canister. Control seeds were kept on Earth for later comparison. Roosa carried possibly 2,000 or more seeds in the canister in his personal kit, a small canvas pouch that stayed with him as he orbited the Moon in the command module “Kitty Hawk” in February, 1971. Unfortunately, the seed bags burst open during the decontamination procedures after their return to Earth, and the seeds were scattered about the chamber and exposed to vacuum, and it was thought they might not be viable.

Stan Krugman collected the seeds and an attempt at germinating some of the seeds was made in Houston. Somewhat surprisingly, it proved successful and the seeds started growing, but they did not survive long because the facilities there were inadequate. A year later the remaining seeds were sent to the southern Forest Service station in Gulfport, Mississippi (sycamore, loblolly pine, and sweetgum) and to the western station in Placerville, California (redwood and Douglas fir) to attempt germination. Many of the seeds, and later cuttings, were successful and grew into viable seedlings. Some of these were planted with their Earth-bound counterparts as controls, (as might be expected, after over forty years there is no discernable difference) but most were given away in 1975 and 1976 to many state forestry organizations to be planted as part of the nation’s bicentennial celebration. These trees were southern and western species, so 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. Trees have also been planted in Washington Square in Philadelphia, at Valley Forge, in the International Forest of Friendship, and at various universities and NASA centers, reportedly in 40 different states.

Stuart Roosa was born on August 16, 1933, in Durango, Colorado. He worked for the Forest Service in the early 1950’s as a smoke jumper fighting fires and later joined the Air Force and became a test pilot. He was one of 19 people selected for the astronaut class of 1966 and was part of the astronaut support crew for Apollo 9. Following Apollo 14, Roosa was backup command module pilot for Apollo 16 and 17. He then worked on the Space Shuttle program until his retirement as a Colonel in the Air Force in 1976, the time when many of his trees were being planted. Roosa passed away in December 1994.

The Moon Trees continue to flourish, a living monument to our first visits to the Moon and a fitting memorial to Stuart Roosa. Believed locations of some of the original Moon Trees are listed below, but no list was ever kept nor any systematic tracking made of the disposition of all the trees. This list of Moon Trees was initiated by Dr. David R. Williams, retired curator at NASA’s National Space Science Data Center, after receiving a request for more information from Joan Goble, a third grade teacher in Indiana in 1996. Since then, dozens of people have contributed with information about other Moon Trees.

If you know of a Moon Tree not listed here or have a update to the status of one of those listed, please send a message to marie.j.henderson@nasa.gov.

Apollo Moon Tree Locations

Second-Generation Moon Trees

Second-generation trees, either grown from seeds of mature Moon Trees or from cuttings, are also growing around the world and continue to be planted today. In memory of her father, Stuart Roosa’s daughter, Rosemary Roosa, has continued the legacy of the original Apollo 14 Moon Trees through promoting planting second-generation Moon Trees around the world.

If you are seeking detailed information about the Moon trees listed here, contact marie.j.henderson@nasa.gov.

In a nod to the legacy of Apollo 14, and a celebration of the future of space exploration with NASA’s Artemis Program, a “New generation” of Moon Tree seeds traveled into lunar orbit aboard the Orion spacecraft. The seeds travelled thousands of miles beyond the Moon spending about 4 weeks in space before returning to Earth.  

NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement partnered with U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Services to fly five species of tree seeds aboard Artemis I as part of a national STEM Engagement and conservation education initiative.

Through NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement (OSTEM) and NASA’s Artifact Module, museums, universities, federal agencies, including NASA Field Centers, and K–12 serving organizations were invited to apply for ownership of a Moon Tree seedling. Recipient distribution schedule aligned to four planting cycles: Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025, and Fall 2025.