NASA Wants To Know – Do You Have A ‘Moon Tree’ In Your Northwest Yard?

“A what? A moon tree?”

That’s what I said when I came across NASA ‘s article that moon trees planted around the country are missing.

Now researchers are looking for them. And you might be able to help!

Explanation: What Are Moon Trees

• They started as seeds in the pocket of Astronaut Stuart Roosa during the Apollo 14 mission to the moon
• While Astronaut Alan Shepard was planting the American flag (the picture on this page) the seeds were orbiting 34 times around the moon in a space module
• The moon crew brought the seeds back to earth and weren’t even sure they would grow. But they sprouted and the USFS distributed hundreds of moon trees to be planted as seedlings. So far, NASA has only located a few dozen of these trees. Where are the rest?

Five Known Moon Trees In Oregon, One In Washington 

It sounds like two are planted at a house in Salem, although I’m not sure where. At least one is at the Oregon State Capitol. There’s also one at Oregon State University in Corvallis and allegedly one at the University of Oregon–somewhere. The only known moon tree in Washington is at the state Capitol in Olympia.

A curator at the National Space Science Data Center wants to hear from you if you know about a moon tree. Visit his moon tree site for more, including a list of trees already found.   Trees from space. Who knew?