Tree grown from seed that traveled to the moon planted on campus

The cardboard shipping box delivered to the Gerard P. Kuiper Space Sciences building, home to the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, on May 30 was about as tall as a person and skinny. It was plastered with shipping labels and stickers advising its carriers to pay attention to the "top" and "bottom" of the "live tree inside" and to "handle it with care." 

As it turned out, the trip inside a truck from a nursery in Halsey, Nebraska, to Tucson was nothing compared with the journey the young tree – or rather, the seed from which it grew – had already been on: The Artemis I Moon Tree, a sweetgum, was grown from a seed that orbited the moon during the late 2022 mission. After the flight, moon trees were grown in eight U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service facilities, including the six nurseries that are part of the National Nursery System and two research facilities. 

The Artemis I Moon Tree is the second such tree to take root on the U of A campus, joining an American sycamore known as the Bicentennial Moon Tree, planted on campus in 1976. That tree was grown from seeds taken to the moon during the Apollo 14 mission in 1971 by astronaut Stuart Roosa. The Artemis I tree was grown at the USDA Forest Service Charles E. Bessey TreeNursery during the 2023 growing season. According to LPL Senior Research Specialist Dolores Hill, who initiated the project and led the application process, the tree traveled 1.4 million miles in 25 days on the uncrewed spacecraft, farther than any spacecraft made for humans has ever gone. 

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For as long as she can remember, Hill said, she has loved how U of A's first moon tree has inspired thousands of school groups visiting campus over the years and how it now attracts faculty and students in search of a shady spot to relax, eat lunch or chat. 

When she saw NASA's call for applications, she immediately jumped on the opportunity. 

"With our long-standing history of lunar exploration here at the U of A, the application for an Artemis Moon Tree almost wrote itself," she said. "The first Apollo missions inspired me to pursue science, and with the Artemis missions and moon trees, we're passing the baton to the next generation."

Hill said the Artemis I Moon Tree shows the extension of the U of A's lunar exploration legacy from the Apollo missions to today, with LPL researchers developing scientific instruments to be deployed by astronauts of the Artemis III mission, which will follow the same path as the robotic Artemis I. Artemis II and Artemis III will send humans to the moon for the first time in more than a half century. 

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Seeds from five species of trees were aboard Artemis I as part of a national STEM engagement and conservation education initiative resulting from a partnership between NASA's Office of STEM Engagement and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Services. The U of A was selected to receive one of only 148 trees from a pool of 1,300 applicants. 

On Nov. 4, the Artemis I Moon Tree was planted in a carefully selected location on campus, in front of the north façade of Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium. The two moon trees are the only ones known to exist in the state, said Hill, who has done extensive research on the topic. 

To protect the young tree from the scorching summer heat, it was not planted outside right away. Instead, Hill handed it over to Campus Arboretum curator Brian Rasmussen, who then tended the plant in the campus greenhouses until cooler planting days arrived.  Rasmussen repotted the seedling to help it establish a robust root system and monitored its growth and health. Once the weather cooled off enough to allow for outside planting, Superintendent of Grounds Sandra Obenour-Dowd and her team took over and prepared the tree's permanent home by removing the turf and digging the planting pit.

Placing the tree on the north side of the building helps protect it from the afternoon heat, according to Campus Arboretum Director Tanya Quist, who said she could not be more excited about this latest addition to the university's "living collection of plants and trees." 

"On the surface, it may appear that plant and planetary sciences are worlds apart," Quist said. "Yet, trees are foundational to life on Earth, and each of these disciplines provides insights and perspectives that highlight and contrast the other."

With conservation and environmental stewardship as primary themes of the arboretum, partnerships like this one only make sense, Quist added. Trees offer many benefits to people and the planet, from improving air quality and protecting water quality to providing shade and cooling. 

"Planting trees and caring for them properly is a simple and efficient strategy to protect both human and environmental health," she said. "They are simple, and affordable tools to use in combating climate change and boosting resilience. The moon trees highlight the value of interdisciplinarity in preserving and stewarding our home planet."

Watch the video below to get a closer look at the moon tree and see it being planted on campus.