Where in Indiana to see trees grown from seeds flown on moon missions
RICHMOND, Ind. (WISH) — An east central Indiana arboretum has planted a sweetgum tree grown from a seed sent on a moon mission in 2022.
Hayes Arboretum planted the tree seedling May 30, and will dedicate it next month.
The Moon Trees seed traveled aboard Artemis I, the first in a series of launches for NASA’s deep space exploration, designed to look closer at the moon in hopes for future missions to Mars. Artemis I launched Nov. 16, 2022; splashdown was Dec. 11, 2022.
The U.S. Forest Service germinated seeds from Artemis I and grew them into seedlings. Hayes Arboretum in April was named as one of 50 recipients of the first seedlings to be distributed.
NASA said in an April 25 news release, “The Artemis I Moon Trees, rooted in the legacy of the original Moon Trees flown by NASA astronaut Stuart Roosa during Apollo 14, journeyed 270,000 miles from Earth aboard the Orion spacecraft. A diverse array of tree species, including sycamores, sweetgums, Douglas firs, loblolly pines, and giant sequoias, were flown around the surface of the Moon. The first batch of seedlings will ship to almost 50 institutions across 48 contiguous U.S. states.”
Steve Hayes Jr., executive director of the Richmond arboretum, said in a statement to News 8 that the facility’s honored “to be home to this unique artifact.”
The sweetgum tree’s dedication will be at 4:30 p.m. Aug. 9 at the Hayes Arboretum, 801 Elks Road. That’s about a half-mile north of the road’s intersection with U.S. 40 in Richmond, and about a 90-minute drive east of downtown Indianapolis.
The arboretum, a 466-acre private property and classified forest, also features hiking trails. The main entrance to the arboretum is open from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The east side of the park, accessible from the corner of Hayes Arboretum Road and Woodside Drive, is open from dusk to dawn daily.
Sweetgum trees are known for their leaves in the shape of five-point stars. The sweetgum in Richmond is believed to be one of at least four Moon Trees in Indiana, with the others coming from the 1971 Apollo 14 manned mission to the moon. Apollo 14, from Jan. 31 to Feb. 9, 1971, featured the third moon landing.
A sycamore on the Statehouse lawn in downtown Indianapolis came from a seed on Apollo 14. It was planted there in 1976 as part of the U.S. bicentennial celebration. Sycamores from Moon Trees seeds also were planted in 1976 in southern Indiana at a Girl Scouts camp in Perry County near the town of Cannelton, and at Lincoln State Park west of the town of Santa Claus in Spencer County.
