Radiolab for Kids The Travelers: How Moon Trees Hide Among Us
Oct 2, 2025
In this engaging discussion, Natalie Middleton, a science writer and fact-checker, unveils the whimsical journey of Apollo 14's 'Moon Trees.' A quirky combination of astronautic adventure and environmentalism, the story begins with astronaut Smokey Roosa's decision to take tree seeds to the moon in 1971. After nearly being forgotten, these seeds sprouted across the U.S., leading to a rediscovery when a curious third grader stumbled upon a Moon Tree. Natalie shares her emotional visit to one and highlights her interactive map that helps others locate these celestial trees.
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Smokey Brings Seeds To Space
- Stu 'Smokey' Roosa loved trees and brought a small aluminum canister of 500 tree seeds with him to Apollo 14.
- The seeds included sweetgum, loblolly pine, redwood, sycamore, and Douglas fir and fit in the palm of his hand.
Plants As Space Experiments
- Scientists didn't know how space conditions like radiation and microgravity would affect plant DNA or growth.
- The moon-seed experiment aimed to see whether space travel could cause changes in trees' cells or appearance.
Orbit, Splashdown, And Exploded Canister
- During Apollo 14, Roosa orbited the moon 34 times while the seeds floated in zero-g inside his command module.
- After splashdown, the canister ruptured during decontamination but almost all seeds were later germinated in Forest Service greenhouses.