On January 21, 1971, Apollo 14 launched toward the moon with astronauts Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell, and (former U.S. Forest Service smoke jumper) Stuart Roosa on board. Most people remember this mission as when Alan Shepard played golf on the moon. But Roosa, flying above the moon’s surface in the Command Module, had brought along something more consequential: tree seeds. Hundreds of seeds of loblolly pines, redwoods, sweetgums, and Douglas firs made the trip into space as part of a joint NASA/US Forest Service project. Upon their return, the seeds were germinated by the Forest Service, then the seedlings were planted throughout the United States.

So where are they today? For years, this was a forgotten project, but over time, NASA has compiled a Moon Trees history website (which is offline as of this writing). Until it’s back up, a condensed history and map are available at “What in the World Are Moon Trees?” (https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/earth-matters/2021/02/02/what-in-the-world-are-moon-trees/). More detailed information is at “Trees that Traveled to Space Now Live on Earth. Here’s Where to Find Them” on the National Geographic website (https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/moon-trees-that-traveled-to-space-now-live-on-earth-where-are-they-now?). A “Moon Trees” podcast is also available at https://radiolab.org/podcast/moon-trees.

There might be one in your neighborhood!