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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2016
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The Astronaut Memorial Grove.
NASA’s Astronaut
Memorial Grove
honors historic
contributions
By DAVID PERO
The Daily Astorian
ometimes holiday displays are
not only joyful, but also serene
and reverent in special ways.
For instance, there are two beau-
tiful tree groves dressed
with bright holiday lights
every year not far from
Interstate 45 a few miles south
of Houston , in the city of Clear
Lake. One of the groves, near the
intersection of Avenue E and Second
Street, has 64 live oaks and Shumard
red oaks and each has a special ded-
ication. Across the street is a second
grove with 76 oaks, each also with a
dedication.
During the holidays, all but one of
the oaks in the smaller grove are dec-
orated with bright white lights. The
single remaining tree stands out with
glowing red lights. Each oak in the
larger grove across the street twin-
kles with dazzling white lights.
Both groves are rooted on fed-
eral land, planted within the con-
fi nes of Johnson Space Center not
far from the entrance, and the trees
have a special signifi cance to the cen-
ter’s current and past employees. The
smaller grove is a living memorial to
NASA’s astronauts, with each tree
dedicated to an astronaut who has
died. The second grove is a memorial
for employees and contractors who
worked at the space center. NASA
plants the trees in both groves and
dedicates one in the smaller grove
each time an astronaut dies, whether
in the line of duty, or from an acci-
dent or from natural causes. Fami-
lies of employees, their spouses and
contractors who have died have an
option of ordering a tree to be planted
in their honor in the employee grove.
The agency also memorializes all the
astronauts and employees in a cer-
emony in the Astronaut Memorial
Grove grove during an annual Day of
Remembrance each January.
The groves are not currently open
to the public, but can be viewed from
nearby streets, and space center visitors
can see the trees while taking a tram
tour of the giant facility. The Johnson
Space Center, as part of it s future plan-
ning, is in the process of developing the
areas around the groves to enlarge the
memorial, while keeping its tranquility
with a goal of opening them to the pub-
lic at a future date, according to Lynette
Madison, of the space center’s Public
Affairs Offi ce.
John Glenn
Although a date has not been set,
in the coming weeks or months, a
new tree will be dedicated in the
astronauts’ grove to memorialize
John Glenn, the fi rst American to
orbit the earth, who recently died at
age 95. Glenn was the last of the orig-
inal Mercury Seven astronauts to die.
After retiring from NASA, he later
NASA Photos
The Astronaut Memorial Grove has 64 live and Shumard red oaks and is decorated in holiday lights.
NASA Illustration
The idea for the Astronaut Memorial Grove originated in
1996 from George Abbey, who was director of the space
center at the time. It started with seven trees.
W riter’s
N otebook
served 24 years in the U.S. Senate,
and fl ew on the space shuttle while
serving in Congress at age 77, the
oldest person to fl y in space.
Madison said dedication ceremo-
nies are usually scheduled on a date
that is best for the family, and usually
on a day that is meaningful, such as a
birthday or an anniversary of a spe-
cifi c mission.
According to NASA historians,
the idea for the Astronaut Memo-
rial Grove originated in 1996 from
George Abbey, who was director
of the space center at the time. The
grove began with the planting of
seven trees dedicated to the astro-
nauts who died 10 years earlier in the
1986 Space Shuttle Challenger acci-
dent. Since then, tree dedication cer-
emonies have been held in honor of
each astronaut who has died.
Pete Conrad
Each year, NASA workers always
get questions from visitors during the
holidays on why all the trees have
Pete Conrad
white lights except the lone live oak
with red lights.
The answer comes from the book
“Rocket Man ” by Howard Klausner
and Nancy Conrad, wife of astro-
naut Pete Conrad. Pete Conrad, who
died in 1999, was a member of the
second group of astronauts NASA
selected, which was called the New
Nine. He fl ew during the Gemini pro-
gram, commanded the second moon
landing on Apollo 12 and also com-
manded the fi rst manned mission
aboard Skylab. Conrad was also one
of the smallest of NASA’s astronauts
at 5 feet 6½ inches and had a personal
motto of, “If you can’t be good, be
colorful.”
According to the book, after Con-
rad’s death from injuries he suffered in
a motorcycle accident, NASA planted
a tree in his honor. Alan Bean, Con-
rad’s Apollo 12 crewmate who walked
on the moon with him, spoke during
the tree dedication ceremony.
The instructions
According to the book, during
Bean’s speech, he pseudo-”chan-
neled” Conrad, who supposedly sent
instructions from the hereafter. The
book recounts that Conrad’s instruc-
John Glenn
tions were that NASA should fi rst
make sure his tree wasn’t the smallest
in the grove. Conrad, through Bean,
then instructed NASA to decorate
all the trees but one every Christmas
season with white lights, but in keep-
ing with his motto, his tree should
stand out with colored lights.
The channeling brought laughter to
the crowd during an otherwise solemn
ceremony and both Bean and Nancy
Conrad were later quoted as saying
Pete Conrad would have enjoyed it
because he loved humor and would
have wanted the moment lightened.
NASA honored the “request” that
year and every Christmas season
since by decking out Conrad’s tree
with bright red lights, the most color-
ful tree in either grove.
As time passes, the groves will
become brighter and even more beau-
tiful during the holidays as more trees
are planted. But the trees also serve
as a reverent and living reminder of
the astronauts’ historic contributions
and of the dedicated service of the
NASA employees and contractors
who worked to further both science
and space exploration.
David Pero is the publisher and
editor of The Daily Astorian.