View Great Lakes Moon Tree Mashup in a larger map

On January 31, 1971, astronaut Stuart Roosa orbited the moon in a command module dubbed, “Kitty Hawk,” as part of the Apollo 14 mission. In his pockets were hundreds of tree seeds that the U.S. Forest Service had asked him to bring into space for an experiment.

Even though their containers burst during the decontamination process back on Earth, hundreds of the seeds were viable. As part of our nation’s bicentennial celebration in 1976, these “moon tree” seeds were planted across the country.

Exact records of their location weren’t kept, but astronaut David Williams has tracked down some locations. Check out this map to find potential locations of moon trees in the Great Lakes states.

And if you happen to spot a tree that’s not listed, e-mail David Williams at dave.williams@nasa.gov and learn more about his mission here.

Other Resources:

The Mystery of the Missing Moon Trees