MOON TREE

'Moon Trees' are so called because they have grown from seeds that were carried to space by astronaut Stuart Roosa,pilot of the command module of Lunar spaceship Apolllo 14(1971). While Roosa circled around moon,his packet of about 400 to 500 seeds of a variety of trees from eartth also orbited the moon. After Roosa returned to earth these seeds were germinated by US Forest Service and planted at different sites. A moon tree(a Loblolly Pine) was planted inside the White House in Washington D.C. and others have travelled far and wide. Second generation moon trees have also been grown from the seeds and cuttings of the original moon trees. Although the experiment didnot reveal anuthing substantial, moon trees are considered to be a symbol of an unspoken connection between space exploration and life on earth.