Across the Apollo program, numerous experiments were undertaken to determine the impacts of the extraterrestrial environment on various aspects of Earth life. The moon trees were born out of one such experiment, in which seeds were taken to space and then germinated successfully back on Earth.

This specimen comes from one such tree, whose seeds were taken to lunar orbit by astronaut Stuart Roosa during the Apollo 14 mission.

As pictured, each hand-cut specimen is housed in an acrylic jar and ships in a classic, glass-topped riker display case measuring 4 1/2" x 3 1/2". Individual specimens are all roughly 1x1 cm. A small information card is also included, which serves as the certificate of authenticity.

This incredible specimen is a touchstone of humanity's journey through the stars and an amazing collector's item for just about anyone.

The Apollo 14 mission was the 3rd crewed Apollo flight to land on the Moon’s surface. Launching from Complex 39-A on January 31st, 1971, the landing module touched down days later on February 5th with a mission to travel the surface and collect geologic samples. On one of these moonwalks, Commander Alan Shepard playfully hit a golf swing with a makeshift club, becoming the first man to golf in lunar gravity.

Shepard, along with his fellow astronauts Stuart Roosa, and Edgar Mitchell made up the crew of the mission. While Shepard and Mitchell explored the surface, Roosa was busy as well. He had brought along a packet of 500 seeds from pine, sycamore, sweetgum, redwood, and fir trees. An idea inspired by his days working for the U.S. forest service, Roosa sought to see the effects of lunar gravity on the development of seedlings.

📸 February 5th, 1971 Astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr., commander of the Apollo 14 lunar landing mission, stands by the deployed United States flag on the lunar surface during the early moments of the first extravehicular activity (EVA) of the mission. Shadows of the Lunar Module (LM), astronaut Edgar D. Mitchell, lunar module pilot, and the erectable S-Band Antenna surround the scene of the third flag implanting to be performed on the lunar surface. While astronauts Shepard and Mitchell descended in the LM "Antares" to explore the Fra Mauro region of the moon, astronaut Stuart A. Roosa, command module pilot, remained with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) "Kitty Hawk" in lunar orbit. (Source: NASA AS14-66-9232)

Both the surface and orbit missions brought back interesting results. 94 pounds (43 kg) of moon rocks were hauled back to Earth, including a massive 19 pound stone nicknamed “Big Bertha.” As for Roosa’s seeds, almost all were germinated and sprouted upon return to the planet. The successful saplings were donated to state forestry programs a few years later as a part of the Apollo 14 bicentennial.