WASHINGTON, D.C.—June 4 was out of this world, marking the planting of one of the new moon trees, a sweetgum seedling, on the U.S. Capitol grounds. It is now “the most unique tree here as part of our arboretum," according to Capitol Grounds and Arboretum Director Jim Kaufmann. The sweetgum seedling was grown from tree seeds sent aboard the Artemis I mission as part of a NASA and USDA Forest Service collaboration.

Rep. Frank Lucas, Rep. Matt Cartwright and a representative from the Canadian embassy were present at the tree-planting ceremony. Also in attendance were moon-bound Artemis II astronauts: commander Reid Wiseman, mission specialist Christina Koch, pilot Victor Glover and Canadian Space Agency mission specialist Jeremy Hansen.

Of the seedling, Reid Wiseman said, “I actually feel a little jealous, because that little sweetgum has been to the moon, and it has come back.”

The seedling is one of approximately 150 so far that have been distributed to organizations across the country. This sweetgum seedling was the first of the Artemis I seedlings to be moved from the USDA Forest Service Moscow Forest Science Laboratory during its dormant stage and into the U.S. Botanic Gardens, where it stayed for three months prior to the June 4 ceremony.

The moon trees program began over 50 years ago aboard Apollo 14 in 1971 when astronaut Stuart Roosa, a former Forest Service smokejumper, took tree seeds from the Forest Service on the mission. After returning to Earth, these seeds were germinated and planted, resulting in the first generation of moon trees.

NASA and the Forest Service partnered to continue this program by sending tree seeds to space through the Artemis I mission. The program brings STEM education that connects the Artemis I mission 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. Those seeds were germinated and grown into seedlings by the Forest Service.

Forest Service staff attending the event were Heidi McAllister, assistant director for Conservation Education at the Washington Office; Rachel Bayer, Region 9 community engagement program manager; and Emily Weidner, Legislative Affairs specialist at the Washington Office.