From the Moon to the schoolyard… a tree born from a seed that traveled around the moon on NASA’s Artemis I mission in 2022 will now take root on the Bronx Community College campus.
“It was planted in space in one of the spacecraft by NASA, and then there were only 50 specimens that came out and we requested one and one of these magnificent trees was granted,” explained Dr. Milton Santiago, interim president of Bronx Community College.
Anthony Colón, superintendent of facilities at the university, was the first to welcome what he calls his ‘baby’.
“Like a son, like a son who is leaving school, but it is good, because I can see him every day and give him the water, the nutrients for his life and grow like a son,” said Colón.
Dozens of seeds from various trees traveled 270,000 miles to lunar orbit during Orion’s unmanned test flight in 2022.
Since then, they germinated under the care of the USDA Forest Service and then NASA carefully chose institutions based on their ability to care for the American sycamore.
“The Sycamore tree grows naturally in areas near rivers, the roots have to have access to plenty of water. Luckily, we have a microclimate in The Bronx that receives a lot of water and is optimal for the growth of this type of plant,” said Luis Montenegro, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost BCC.
The initiative seeks to inspire and maximize educational opportunities in their respective communities.
“And the other reason why it is good for the school is that we also have education programs, STEM, mathematical science, technology and we are going to use this tree as a way of focusing on projects for our students here,” added Montenegro. .
‘Luna the moon tree’, today went down in history, since the first group of these trees were taken into space 50 years ago aboard the Apollo spacecraft.
This leafy tree is native to the central and eastern United States and according to NASA it can live up to 600 years.
Which indicates that they will continue to witness our exploration of the cosmos.
____
We invite you to visit us on the new NY1 Noticias channel on WhatsApp. There you will find the most relevant news about what is happening in New York, as well as other coverage about the rest of the country, Latin America and the world. Click on this link to access the channel. We thank you in advance if you become one of our followers and express your reaction to what we publish with an emoji.
