A veteran space traveler celebrates its 20th year at the university today.

The Bicentennial Moon Tree journeyed to the moon and back as sycamore seeds aboard Apollo 14.

The seeds were brought back and planted somewhere else first, said Ewen Whitaker, retired professor in the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory.

Once the tree grew to about 6 feet, it was replanted on campus between the Flandrau Science Center and the Kuiper Space Sciences building.

"There were three or four of us in the Lunar Lab that were connected with the Apollo missions," Whitaker said.

"It (the tree) was kind of a surprise to us. It just suddenly appeared."

Eugene Levy, dean of the College of Science, said the Moon Tree symbolizes the role of forests in the history and future of the Earth.

"Life is a planetary phenomenon," he said. "Green plants produce the oxygen that allow us to breathe and exist."

Levy also said the tree is a good symbol of the planetary science department.

"The tree is a continuing and living thing," he said, "just like the lunar planetary lab is continuing and living to be a fundamental role in space exploration."