A Southern California school plants a 'Moon Tree' grown with seeds flown in space

LAKE FOREST, Calif. (AP) — To cheers and applause from kids wearing spacesuits and star-studded T-shirts, a tree was planted in California that is out of this world.

The so-called “Moon Tree” — grown with seeds that were flown around the moon — was wheeled out in a wagon accompanied by several students carrying shovels to help dig its new home at Santiago STEAM Magnet Elementary School in Lake Forest.

The school, which has roughly 500 students in grades K-12, was among those selected to receive a seedling for a giant sequoia that was grown with seeds flown on NASA’s Artemis I Mission in 2022.

“It's kind of crazy,” said Emily Aguesse, a sixth grader who participated in Monday's ceremony welcoming the tree. “I've always wanted to go to space but this motivates it even more.”

It's the second time that NASA has flown seeds into space and brought them back for planting. An astronaut for the Apollo 14 mission in 1971 who was a former U.S. Forest Service smokejumper carried seeds that later were grown into the first generation of Moon Trees, which were planted in states spanning from Alabama to Washington.

While many of those seedlings were distributed to national monuments, this latest batch has been given to schools and museums to promote science and conservation education and help bring space down to Earth, said Paul Propster, chief story architect for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

"It’s just kind of cool and fun to connect the next generation of explorers," Propster said.

It isn't known whether space travel has an effect on how plants grow and scientists continue to study the topic, he said.

In 2022, NASA and the Forest Service flew nearly 2,000 seeds from five species of trees aboard the unmanned Orion spacecraft, which went into lunar orbit and spent about four weeks traveling in space.

Once back on Earth, the seeds were grown into young sycamores, sweetgums, Douglas firs, loblolly pines and giant sequoias that could be shared with the public through an application process.

Nearly 150 seedlings were distributed earlier in the year, and another batch is expected this fall, NASA officials said.

Santiago — a science and technology-focused magnet school — planted its tree in a space-themed outdoor garden decorated with colorful stones painted by students. The school's parent and teacher association will have community volunteers care for the Moon Tree, which is expected to grow in girth and stature for decades amid a grove of eucalyptus that shades the campus in Southern California.

Colorful ropes were laid in circles on the ground to show students how big the tree could grow 50 years from now — and 500.

“This tree will grow with the kids," said Liz Gibson, who has three children at the school and chaired the NASA Moon Tree ceremony.