WASHINGTON, Ark. (AP) — NASA is studying two loblolly pine trees in Arkansas that were grown from seeds that were launched into space in 1971.
Arkansas received four so-called moon trees, but only two survived: one in Historic Washington State Park in south Arkansas and one outside the Sebastian County Courthouse in Fort Smith.
Both trees were planted on Arbor Day in 1976 and were among more than 450 seedlings planted nationwide.
The Texarkana Gazette reports that the seeds were brought into space on Apollo 14 by astronaut Stuart Roosa. NASA's David Williams says the moon trees were planted alongside regular trees of the same species — and no differences have been observed.
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