TRANSCRIPT – Planting an
Artemis I Moon Tree
Derrol Nail, Artemis I Launch Commentator:
And liftoff of Artemis One!
We rise together, back to the Moon and beyond!
[Music]
Noah Petro, Artemis III
Project Scientist:
I’m not used to talking about trees. I like rocks, which is easier.
Seeds represent the most optimistic of our species. Given our reliance on wood, from raw material for a home,
to a baseball bat, and now a spacecraft, planting a seedling is an investment in our future. The tree may not bring
you fruit, but it will bring future generations fruit.
In 1962, President Kennedy said these words:
“We meet in an hour of change and challenge, in a decade of hope and fear, and an age of both knowledge
and ignorance. The greater of our knowledge increases, the greater of our ignorance unfolds.”
Artemis I continued in the grand tradition of what Artemis II astronaut Victor Glover suggested during his visit
to Goddard as vessels of humanity, that we take our culture with us into the cosmos. That we should choose to
take seeds and plant them for future generations to enjoy, to remind us earthbound explorers, that despite the
problems we face here, we remain connected to our future in space.
I'm hopeful that our – all of our shared work on Artemis missions will bring similar fruit to future generations.
[Fade music]