Eastern Idaho is adding another lunar-related landmark to its landscape.
The Idaho Museum of Natural History in Pocatello will become the caretaker for a Douglas fir seedling that orbited the moon in 2022 prior to its gestation.
The unmanned Artemis I mission in 2022 carried thousands of seeds from five species of trees found in the U.S.
They included Douglas fir, Giant Sequoia, Loblolly pine for the conifers and deciduous American Sycamore and Sweetgum varieties.
Those seeds were later germinated and donated to museums, schools and nonprofits.
The Idaho Natural History Museum is the latest recipient, with plans to teach curious kids and adults alike about Idaho’s role in space exploration.
Robert Gay is the museum’s education director.
“We don’t have rockets and space suits and whatnot in our collection here, but we do have our connection to [Craters of the Moon National Monument], which was some of the basis for lunar exploration modeling before [the Apollo mission],” Gay said.
The Apollo 14 crew, which included Alan Shepherd, the first American to visit space, trained at Craters of the Moon in 1969.
“We can use this to talk about native species, of course, but also like what does space do to animals and plants and why are we sending things around the moon and what does this mean for humans going to outer space,” Gay said.
The museum’s seedling joins another Douglas fir that made the same lunar journey planted at American Falls High School last year.
Gay said ISU hosted one of the original moon trees from the 1971 Apollo 14 mission, but it’s either been moved or taken down because of a nearby building expansion.
Ultimately, the conifer will make its permanent home between the museum and the Idaho State University quad as the school celebrates its 125th anniversary.
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