Hurricane topples ‘Moon Tree’ that was on Apollo mission

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Winds from Hurricane Irma have toppled a tiny tree that orbited the moon and later grew at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida.

Florida Today reports the sycamore tree, also known as a “Moon Tree,” was toppled by hurricane winds.

In 1971, hundreds of tree seeds were carried into space by Apollo 14 astronaut Stuart Roosa. When the Apollo 14 returned to Earth, a mishap caused them to mix. They were deemed unusable for experiments, but were grown anyway.

A NASA report says hundreds of the trees were planted across the country to celebrate the nation’s 200th birthday, though all their locations weren’t properly documented.

The visitor complex says the spirit of the Moon Tree lives on as the complex continues to share the NASA story of space exploration.