NASA Langley Dedicates Artemis Moon Tree

[NASA]

NASA’s Acting Associate Administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate Lori Glaze, right, and NASA Langley Acting Center Director Trina Dyal spoke at a dedication ceremony for NASA Langley’s Artemis Moon Tree at the center March 12.

NASA/Ryan Hill

A tree that sprouted from a seed that journeyed around the Moon and back is growing at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.

NASA’s Acting Associate Administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate Lori Glaze and NASA Langley Acting Center Director Trina Dyal spoke at a dedication ceremony for the Artemis Moon Tree, a loblolly pine, at the center March 12.

“I wanted to quote an old Greek proverb that more or less says something like, ‘Society grows when its elders plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in,’ ” said Glaze. “I love that. We always talk about how we stand on the shoulders of giants. Those giants planted seeds, and we are still benefiting from the tremendous roots of those trees,”

The young tree, only about two feet tall right now, is growing in an area between NASA Langley’s Integrated Engineering Services Building and its Measurement Systems Laboratory. The pine is surrounded by a wire plant protector. A yellow label identifies the species and the location of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Services nursery where the seedling was grown — Charles E. Bessey Nursery in Halsey, Nebraska. A small plaque marks its status as a Moon Tree.

“This, we plant here for all future generations to be inspired and to continue on the amazing legacy of what we’re doing,” said Glaze. “Our return to the lunar surface and our journey to Mars through the Artemis campaign is really going to lay the foundation for that future of exploration that right now we’re only dreaming about. With your help, through Langley and the rest of our NASA colleagues and partners, we’re going to achieve those visions.”

NASA Langley’s Artemis Moon Tree is a loblolly pine.

NASA/Ryan Hill

The loblolly seed was one of many that flew on the Artemis I mission Nov. 16 to Dec. 11, 2022 — journeying 270,000 miles from Earth aboard the Orion spacecraft. NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement partnered with the Forest Services to fly the seeds aboard Artemis I as part of a national STEM Engagement and conservation education initiative. 

In addition to loblolly pines, tree species on the flight included sycamores, sweetgums, Douglas firs, and giant sequoias. The Forest Services germinated the seeds.

Locally, NASA Langley’s loblolly pine is one of three Artemis Moon Trees. The Virginia Living Museum in Newport News and the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk were also selected as Moon Tree stewards, and also received loblolly pines.

The Artemis Moon Trees take inspiration from their Apollo precursors. In 1971, NASA astronaut Stuart Roosa, the command module pilot for the Apollo 14 mission and a former U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Services smoke jumper, carried tree seeds into lunar orbit. The Apollo 14 Moon Trees were disseminated to national monuments and dignitaries around the world, with a large number distributed as part of the nation’s bicentennial event.  

One of those Moon Trees, a sycamore, was planted at Albert W. Patrick III Elementary School in the Fox Hill area of Hampton in 1976. Sixth grader Marjorie White wrote a poem called “A Tree Lives” that won a contest to earn the honor.

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