Apollo 14 "Moon Trees" by Kailee McMurran, Design by Goats

Artist StatementResearching space missions is absolutely fascinating - all the accidental discoveries, side experiments, and human stories! In space! The story of the “Moon Trees” is so wacky and cool that it stuck with me even while I lost myself in a black hole of learning about so many mission successes, failures, and progress. Astronaut Stuart A. Roosa was a former smoke jumper. Through his connections to the forest service, Roosa was asked to carry around 500 tree seeds in his personal kit during the 1971 Apollo 14 mission. Despite a momentary scare when the seed containers bursted open upon arrival back on earth, the seeds unexpectedly germinated after being brought to a lab! The moon orbiting seeds were then planted all over the world and are still growing to this day! So keep an eye out for "Moon Trees" - they look exactly like Earth trees. :) - Kailee — Kailee McMurran