Space seeds: Fredericton-based tree seeds join Artemis II moon mission

The current space mission is carrying 2,500 tree seeds from Fredericton.

When Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen lifted off from the Kennedy Space Centre aboard the Artemis II Wednesday as part of a historic mission around the moon, he did so with some unusual cargo on board.

Joining Hansen, and three other astronauts, were seeds from five tree species that Natural Resources Canada’s Canadian Forest Service says represent the diversity of Canadian forests. They were prepped at the National Tree Seed Centre in Fredericton.

The centre holds over 14,000 seed lots, with more than 250 unique species. The five seed species bound for the moon are lodgepole pine, eastern white cedar, red maple, white birch and eastern white pine.

“We wanted to think about trees that were representative across the country, but may also be good indicators of the problems that trees are facing,” National Tree Seed Centre coordinator Darren Derbowka says.

“Lodgepole pine, for example, in western Canada is a really unfortunate example of how climate change is impacting species.”

The seed centre was approached about the idea by the Laurentian Forestry Centre in Quebec last August, which sent seeds to space in 2010.

Preparing the seeds for the long journey didn’t happen overnight. Derbowka says there are about 2,500 seeds on board between the five species, all of which are stuffed in small packages that he says kind of looks like tinfoil ravioli.

While the seeds won’t be opened away from Earth, he says the facts seeds from Canada are on board the historic mission helps spark the conversation about conservation.

“Forests are really being challenged in an unprecedented way by climate change, invasive species and habitat loss,” says Derbowka.

“Twenty-five per cent of Canada’s native trees now are endangered or imperiled in some way, so this mission is really about elevating the awareness and the importance of tree seeds, because it underpins all of our economic, ecological and cultural values that we take for granted in our forests.”

Upon their return from out of orbit, the seeds will be returned to the Fredericton centre. Assuming they survive the journey, they will be compared to non-space seeds for any potential differences and then planted and grown.

As for where they will be planted, Derbowka hopes it will be somewhere public where residents from all over Canada can come to see.

“It’s been a really great opportunity to sort of elevate that conversation about conservation, about forestry and about all of the values that we hold dear to us as part of our national identity.”

He hopes the seeds will serve as an inspiration for greater tree conservation efforts nationwide.

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