In February 1971 aboard the Apollo 14 Command and Service Unit, Kitty Hawk, Command Module Pilot, Stuart Rosa made “ observations, experiments, and scientific reconnaissance ” in lunar orbit while fellow crew members, Commander Alan Shepard and Lunar Module pioneer Edgar Mitchell explored the Van formation Mauro on the moon.
Expressing NASA’s History February 4, tells that 50 years ago on board Kitty Hawk, in Rossa’s personal travel group, it was “a box containing about 400-500 Lopoly pine nuts, gum, redwood, Douglas fir and flying tree seeds.”
When the mission returned to Earth, NASA stated that the seeds sprouted and grown into so-called moon trees, which can be found throughout the United States and the world.
NASA “The historic journeys of the Apollo program were about the boldness of exploration and startling scientific discoveries,” quotes acting NASA chief historian Brian Odom, who said in the statement. He added, “Apollo 14 has included the largest series of scientific experiments up to that point in the program, but in the case of the Russian” moon trees “, it is what the astronauts did on their lunar journey that left an indelible imprint on the landscape. On Earth.” .
According to the ruling, it was a joint effort between NASA and the US Forest Service, with a dual purpose: as part of an experiment “to determine the effects of deep space on seeds” and to raise awareness about the forest service and in the forest in particular. Firefighters unleash convoys of smoke leaking from planes to extinguish fires.
Where did the idea come from?
According to NASA, Ed Cliff, head of the Forest Service, came up with the concept of the moon tree.
After Cliff realized Rosa was a smoke jumper in the 1950s – before he became a military pilot and astronaut – NASA said, he called an astronaut to come up with the idea.
Stan Krugman, a geneticist with the Forest Service, was in charge of the project, selecting the seeds orbiting the moon using Apollo 14. NASA said.
There was an unfortunate accident.
During the cleanup operations that followed the mission, the habitat ruptured and the seeds mixed, damaging the experimental environment, according to NASA.
Despite his fears of seed dying, he told NASA, “They were sent to the Forest Service offices in Gulfport, Mississippi, and Plaserville, California, to see if they could germinate and grow into seedlings.” About 450 seedlings were planted.
Where did the seedlings go?
NASA History noted that moon tree seedlings were “ donated to schools, universities, parks, and government offices, many of them as part of the United States’ Bicentennial in 1976 ”, with sites chosen in part to ensure that climate conditions are compatible. With infected tree species. .
Next NASA, President Gerald Ford, who sent telegrams to tree-planting ceremonies in the United States of the bicentennial, reported the following: “ This tree that astronauts Stuart Rosa, Alan Shepherd and Edgar Mitchell carried on their mission to the moon is a living symbol of our human accomplishments. And amazing scientific. A fitting tribute to our national space program that demonstrated America’s best patriotism, dedication and determination to succeed. “
After decades of growth, NASA noted that trees that traveled to the moon and planted alongside their counterparts that grew on Earth show no differences from trees that have never left Earth.
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Where are they planted?
According to NASALoblolly Pine, they were planted in the White House, trees were planted in Brazil and Switzerland and presented to the Emperor of Japan, among others. Trees have also been planted in Washington Square in Philadelphia, in Valley Forge, in the International Forest of Friendship, and at many universities and NASA centers. ”The plane tree grows at the Koch Girl Scout Campground in Kanleton, Indiana, as well as the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. A list of Moon Tree sites can be found here.
There is a second generation of trees.
“The second generation trees, which grow from the seeds of the moon tree, are sometimes known as crescent trees, and they also grow in all parts of the world,” NASA explained.
A Half Moon Tree can be found at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama – standing outside a building played a major role in the development of the Saturn 5 rocket that launched the Apollo 14 mission. NASA said.
NASA meant, “All crops that grew in space have the roots of Apollo 14. Five decades after the mission that brought seeds to the moon, the trees that grew from the seeds provide a living and leafy testimony to humankind’s first journeys to the moon, while the crops that grew succeeded in Space has since explored humanity. The universe. “
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