The sweetgum tree outside of UTA’s planetarium stands about 4 feet tall.
It survived its first winter in 2024 and was prepped for this year’s cold just before Winter Storm Fern landed in North Texas this weekend. The university’s staff are “fantastic” when it comes to keeping the tree watered and properly cared for, said UTA planetarium coordinator McKenna Dowd.
“It’s thriving, it’s doing really well,” Dowd said. “There’s new growth on it all the time.”
The sapling was just over a foot tall when the university received the tree in April 2024 from the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service.
It was one of the nearly 2,000 seeds that orbited the moon on the Orion spacecraft as part of the 2022 Artemis I mission.
The mission’s uncrewed lunar flight test launched Nov. 16, 2022, and landed back on Earth Dec. 11, 2022. It was the first in a series of missions ultimately intended to land astronauts on the moon and Mars to increase space exploration.
NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement partnered with the Forest Service to fly five tree species aboard the spacecraft as part of a conservation education initiative. The species included loblolly pine, American sycamore, giant sequoia, Douglas-fir and the Texas native sweetgum.
Artemis I mission map. (NASA) The program was inspired by the 1971 Apollo 14 mission that carried trees into 34 lunar orbits before returning to Earth.
Educational institutions were encouraged to apply to be a “moon tree” custodian, Dowd said. UTA was one of the 236 locations that ultimately received a tree from USDA Forest Service facilities, where the seeds were grown into seedlings following the mission and before being granted to applicants.
“I’m absolutely, incredibly grateful that we have such a living, historic reminder of space exploration right here on campus,” Dowd said.
While final publications have not yet been published, preliminary findings show the seeds were not as impacted by space travel as scientists believed them to be, Dowd said.
The seedlings, including UTA’s sweetgum, attest to the dedication of universities and institutions everywhere to studying life, space and conservation and their relationship to each other.
“This living artifact will serve as a tangible representation of our dedication as a campus to scientific advancement, environmental stewardship and global collaboration,” Dowd said.
She describes the research at UTA’s College of Science as “incredible.”
Dowd pointed to UTA’s physics department, its weather research center and energy physicists as a few of many examples that make the university a premier R1 research institution, contributing to the field of science as a whole.
“I believe, really, that the presence of the moon tree will not only enrich our campus, but also contribute to the broader legacy of the Artemis program, showcasing unwavering commitment to excellence, exploration and research,” Dowd said.
With three windows spread through April, Artemis II could launch as early as Feb. 6. On that mission, four astronauts will spend 10 days in space, orbiting the moon and testing critical spacecraft ahead of Artemis III.
The third installment of the mission aims to land astronauts near the southern portion of the moon, a region yet to be explored by humans.
Also on that mission: samples of the soil of the Artemis I “moon trees” planted at NASA’s 10 centers.
As NASA rolls out the mission, Dowd looks forward to the tree’s growth, its inspiration on UTA’s students and continued involvement of nature in exploration of space.
“I’m sure we’ll see it again in the future,” Dowd said. “Because all of this is really important as we continue space exploration, especially with the moon and then, in the future, to Mars as well.”
Nicole Lopez is the environment reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at nicole.lopez@fortworthreport.org.
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