Feb 09, 2021 11:04 PM EST
In 1971, approximately 500 seeds of various species were launched into orbit; it circled the moon 34 times before returning to Earth, where they were then planted in various locations across the globe.
NASA sent 400 to 500 seeds into space to see if they would be altered. In 1971, the seeds went along with the Apollo 14 mission and circled the moon 34 times. They planted them in the US, Europe, and South America. The spouted plant is referred to as Moon Trees by the agency, and there are 83 overall. Unfortunately, about a third of the trees have died since being planted in the 1970s.
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Moon trees are among the most notable space experiments that NASA ever conducted in history. A previous report from Science Times said that about 500 seeds were sent to space aboard the Apollo 14 mission in 1971 to know if these seeds that experienced microgravity will grow differently from those that have not experienced microgravity at all.
Apollo 14 mission circled the moon 34 times before returning to Earth. Upon returning, NASA revealed that they planted these seeds along with seeds that did not experience counterparts. Around 83 of these seeds grew into trees, which are now dubbed as Moon Trees.
Most of them are in the US, while two are located in South America and one in Europe. NASA has recently shared a map showing these locations 50 years after it was sent to space.