HAMPTON, Va. — Hampton City Schools is celebrating a unique tree growing at one of the district’s elementary schools.
Wednesday afternoon, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held for the moon tree at Mary W. Jackson Fundamental Elementary.
The tree was planted by students in the fall of 2025 and came from a seed that traveled around the moon during NASA’s Artemis I mission in 2022.
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The tree also serves as a unique reminder of the school’s connection to NASA.
Mary Jackson, who the school is named after, has become well-known for her pioneering work as a black woman working for NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton.
Watch: Women's History Month: Legacy of hidden figures at NASA
“It’s just connecting ourselves, kind of, with the world around us, with NASA, our community partners, and just having it here, literally, in our back yard," said third grade teacher Melani Thomas, who was part of the school's moon tree project.
This is the school district’s second moon tree. Another school has a tree planted from a seed that was part of NASA’s Apollo missions.
