Skip to Main Content

Indiana Space Trees

kwhitacr_jpg.jpg

~ by Kristi Whitacre, Community Development Educator & County Extension Director, Vigo County

 

Sycamore and Tulip Poplar tree seeds orbited the Earth on the U.S. space shuttle Atlantis STS more than 30 years ago, from December 2-6, 1988, as part of a Purdue Extension 4-H project with Astronaut Jerry Ross. The seeds were grown into saplings on Purdue University’s campus and one was donated to each county Extension Office in Indiana in 1989 to celebrate the diamond anniversary of Purdue Cooperative Extension Service. These trees continue to grow in many Indiana communities today.

vigospacetree-rotated.jpg

 

Kristi Whitacre, Purdue Extension Educator, and Daniel Walker, Purdue Community Planning Extension Specialist, have documented the story and gathered information on the remaining trees in an interactive story map.

Click the link to view the map, learn about the history of the project, get tips on harvesting the seeds, and learn more about astronaut Jerry Ross: https://arcg.is/1eHviK.

Featured Stories

Capital Comments
A Simple View of the Economy Helps Us Understand GrowthTax Bills Rise in 2024?

People use tools to make goods and services, which other people buy. Gross domestic product is...

Read More
TCTAC
Great Lakes Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center (TCTAC)

Purdue Extension Community Development is the Indiana lead for the Great Lakes Environmental...

Read More
Windmills
Purdue Extension & National Renewable Energy Laboratory- Community Listening Session

Purdue Extension was selected by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to co-host a...

Read More
Capital Comments
How Much Will Homeowner Property Tax Bills Rise in 2024?

Last year Indiana homeowners were hit with property tax bill increases averaging 17 percent, an...

Read More
Capital Comments
Farmland Property Taxes May Keep Increasing

The memo was posted at the end of December, on the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance...

Read More
Capital Comments
Taking Inflation Apart

Since then inflation has come down a lot. As of November 2023, prices were 3.1 percent higher...

Read More
To Top