Sunday, September 20, 2026
In 1971 An Astronaut Brought Seeds To Space After Returning To Earth He Planted Them And Got Surprising Results
Space

In 1971, an astronaut brought seeds to space. After returning to Earth, he planted them and got surprising results.

May 29, 2026 Emily J. Shiffer, Emily Shiffer Upworthy

On January 31, 1971, Apollo 14 took off from Earth for its NASA mission to space and a lunar orbit. Astronaut Stuart Roosa was one of the 3-man crew. Roosa was a former U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Services smoke jumper. And on the trip, he packed the tiniest elements for an “out of this world” scientific experiment—tree seeds. The experiment: to test if seeds that had been to space (a.k.a. zero gravity ) grew any differently than seeds stuck on planet Earth. And it ended with surprising results.

In 1971, an astronaut brought seeds to space. After returning to Earth, he planted them and got surprising results.. On January 31, 1971, Apollo 14 took off from Earth for its NASA mission to space and a lunar orbit. Astronaut Stuart Roosa was one of the 3-man crew. Roosa was a former U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Services smoke jumper. And on the trip, he packed the tiniest elements for an “out of this world” scientific experiment—tree seeds. The experiment: to test if seeds that had been to space (a.k.a. zero gravity ) grew any differently than seeds stuck on planet Earth. And it ended with surprising results. What was the Apollo 14 “Moon Trees” experiment? Roosa connected with Stan Krugman at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Services to conduct the tree experiment. He packed over 2,000 seeds that had been classified, s...