For More Info... Apple Tree Grown from Seed Flown in Space on STS-89

The Space Shuttle Endeavor flew mission STS-89 to the Mir Space Station, January 22-31, 1998. One of the experiments aboard the Endeavor was a package of apple seeds provided by the Alabama Aerospace Teachers Association. When the seeds returned, students from Ms. Diane Watson’s class at Webb Elementary School in Houston County, Alabama, planted the seeds and grew saplings that they donated to various sites. The sapling at Troy University Dothan Campus did not survive.

Apple Tree

The apple tree (Malus domestica) is a member of the rose family and originated in Central Asia, from eastern Turkey to western China. It is one of the world’s oldest domesticated plants, appears to have spread into Europe because of the imperial ambitions of Alexander the Great, and appeared in North America with English colonists in the 17th century (though the Crabapple is native to North America). Production trees grow to 15 feet and wild trees grow to 39 feet. The United States produced over six percent of the 69 million tons of apples grown commercially in 2010. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple For More Information.

The “For More Info” Project

The “For More Info” Project is a joint venture of The Wiregrass Archives and the Troy University Libraries funded in part by a generous grant from the Historic Chattahoochee Commission Seed Grant Program. Begun in 2015, “For More Info” provides a place to find biographical information and images of the people honored in the Memorial Tree Program established by the Dothan Beautification Board in 1991 and continued at Troy University Dothan Campus.

“For More Info” also provides organizational histories and biographical sketches concerning named buildings, rooms, and other facilities on campus.