Lipscomb Academy gifted NASA moon tree
The school received a seedling that flew 270,000 miles from earth on the Artemis I mission.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - The Lipscomb Academy at Lipscomb University was chosen by NASA out of more than 1,300 applicants to receive a moon tree.
Lipscomb Academy received a seedling that flew 270,000 miles from Earth on the Artemis I mission.
According to Lipscomb University, Katie Batson, a Lipscomb Academy sixth-grade science faculty member, applied to NASA in August on behalf of the academy to be a recipient of the tree.
In April, Batson was notified by the NASA Office of STEM Engagement and USDA Forest Service that Lipscomb Academy had been selected as one of the first 50 recipients of the tree, according to Lipscomb University.
NASA said the institutions were chosen based on how the trees would be nurtured and educationally promoted to their communities, according to Lipscomb University.
On April 24, the Lipscomb Academy received the three-foot sweetgum moon tree. Batson and her sixth grade students helped dig the hole and planted the tree on the west side of the campus where the two campuses of Lipscomb Academy and Lipscomb University meet.
In 2022, on Nov. 16, NASA launched the Artemis I mission, an un-crewed flight test of the new Space Launch System rocket.
During its 26 day flight, the spacecraft flew past the moon twice getting within 80 miles of the the lunar surface, Lipscomb University said.
The spacecraft, Orion, travel 270,000 miles from earth which was 1,000 times farther than the International Space Station.
According to Lipscomb University, moon trees can live up to 400 years.
“The Lipscomb Academy Moon Tree will be a lasting legacy for generations to come,” Lipscomb University said.
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