Mars Hill University to Host Dedication Ceremony for NASA “Moon Tree”

April 16, 2025

Mars Hill University will celebrate Arbor Day with a special dedication ceremony for its NASA Artemis Moon Tree on Friday, April 25, 2025, at 2:30 p.m. The ceremony will take place at the tree’s planting site in front of Carter-Humphrey Guest House, located at the intersection of Bailey Street and Athletic Street.

The event will feature the announcement of the winning name for a campus competition to name the Moon Tree, an official dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony, followed by refreshments. In case of inclement weather, the ceremony will be moved to the Ponder Atrium in Ferguson Math and Science Center.

Mars Hill University was among the first 150 institutions selected—and one of the first 60 to actually receive a tree—out of more than 1,300 applicants nationwide to the Artemis Moon Tree program from NASA. The program features trees grown from seeds that traveled to space aboard the Artemis I mission in November 2022.

“It’s a real honor to have been awarded one of the Moon Trees,” said Nicole Soper Gorden, Ph.D., a Mars Hill biology professor. “Other sites that have Moon Trees include the U.S. Capitol in Washington, the North Carolina Governor’s Mansion in Raleigh, and many schools and museums around the country.”

During the Artemis I mission, the Orion capsule spent approximately four weeks in space, orbiting the moon three times. The spacecraft carried seeds from five different tree species as part of an experiment to test the effects of space travel on seed germination. After the mission, NASA scientists collected data and nurtured the seeds into saplings.

Mars Hill University’s Moon Tree is a sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua), a native Southern species known for its distinctive star-shaped leaves and spiky “gumball” seed pods. Currently standing at about three feet tall, the tree has already demonstrated healthy growth since being planted.

The MHU Moon Tree will be incorporated into the university’s arboretum and tree trail, complete with educational signs and public access. It will serve as an educational resource for the university and the surrounding community.

For more information about NASA’s Moon Trees program, visit https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/nasa-stem-artemis-moon-trees/.