Moon tree sapling takes permanent root at Claymont High School
UHRICHSVILLE – A sycamore tree seed that traveled 268,563 miles from Earth and around the moon during NASA’s Artemis I mission in 2022 has landed in the form of a sapling on the grounds of Claymont High School.
According to naturalinquirer.org, “NASA and the USDA Forest Service have partnered to send tree seeds to space on Artemis I and bring STEM education that connects Artemis I programming to Earth science, conservation education, data literacy, and citizen science to educators and youth nationwide. Seeds that orbited the Moon are from loblolly pine, Douglas-fir, giant sequoia, American sycamore, and sweetgum trees.”
Under sweltering conditions Wednesday afternoon, a handful of science club members lead by Claymont teachers and co-advisers Ian Mizer and Travis Houghton planted tree No. 634, which is part of a batch of 50 issued in the first round of nationwide selection. It was Mizer's idea to apply for a moon tree came after stumbling upon an article about the tree program while researching the 2024 total solar eclipse. "We submitted the application in August of 2023 and received the good news that we were selected to receive moon tree 634 in the middle of May," Mizer said.
Moon trees were grown in eight different USDA Forest Service facilities, including six nurseries that are part of the National Nursery System, and two research facilities. The seedling selected for CHS was grown at the USDA Forest Service Charles E. Bessey Nursery during the 2023 growing season.
Further selection and notifications to the 1,300 applicants is ongoing. The exact number of seedlings sent to Ohio and states is not yet known as four planting cycles − spring and fall in 2024 and 2025, said Heidi McAllister, with the U.S. Forest Service in Washington DC.
McAllister noted that Alaska and Hawaii were not selected because growing conditions were not suitable for the project.
Moon trees are not a new idea. The first experiment took place during the Apollo 14 mission on Jan. 31, 1971, in a joint project between NASA and the USFS. Some trees planted from that trip still stand today. One can be found in Friendship Park, Jefferson County, Ohio. Two others located within the Buckeye State have since died.
To learn more on the history of the original moon tree locations visit: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/moon_tree.html
T-R staff photographer Andrew Dolph can be reached by phone at 330-289-6072, or by email at adolph3@gannett.com. You can also find him on Instagram @dolphphoto.
This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Claymont High School students plant moon tree sapling
