Photo and Story by
www.Photo.ByVivian.com

Among the trees that grow alongside the San Luis Creek in Mission Plaza in San Luis Obispo is a Coastal Redwood that as a seed took a 9-day trip into space on the Apollo 14, the 8th manned space mission, with Major Stuart Roosa, the Command Module Pilot, Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell. In a project between NASA and USFS this Coastal Redwood along with 499 other tree seeds, launched into space in Roosa’s (a former smoke jumper) pack on Jan. 31, 1971 on the United States’ third trip to the lunar surface.

Apollo 14 splashed back down into the Pacific Ocean on Feb. 9. The seeds that traveled on the mission were planted at the US Forest Service Forest Genetics Nursery in Placerville, CA and Gulfport, Mississippi. Of the 500 seeds, 420 sprouted and the seedlings, known as Moon Trees, were presented to dignitaries around the world, (Italy, Brazil and Switzerland to name a few) and various western and southern States. The San Luis Obispo Moon Tree was planted along the creek on July 30, 1976 commemorating the Bicentennial of the United States of America.

So the next time you are enjoying a meal on a Creekside patio, strolling along the Creek Walk, visiting the Mission or Carnegie Library, take a look at the Coastal Redwood, our Moon Tree, which has flourished into a beautiful tree reaching high into the sky where it once journeyed and where most of us will never go.