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