Stuart Roosa, USDA Forest Service Smokejumper and NASA Astronaut
USDA Forest Service and NASA
As an astronaut on the Apollo 14 mission, Roosa brought seeds in his personal preference kit. These seeds orbited the Moon with him in 1971 and were later planted as Moon Trees across the United States.
Roosa had several different careers throughout his lifetime. Before he joined NASA as an astronaut, he was a Forest Service smokejumper. His time with the Forest Service led to his love of flying, which led him to join the U.S. Air Force. After becoming a fighter pilot, he was selected for the astronaut class of 1966. This allowed him to become the Command Module Pilot for Apollo 14 and make the legendary trip to the Moon.
Smokejumpers are trained wildland firefighters who parachute into fires to help suppress them. Smokejumpers can travel by parachutes, helicopters, vehicles, or foot to be as efficient at fighting wildland fires as possible. Most smokejumpers are highly trained firefighters who have had years of experience.
Roosa orbited the Moon solo for 33 hours.
Apollo 14 was Roosa’s first and only space flight, but he served as backup command pilot for Apollo 16 and 17 and was assigned to the Space Shuttle program until he retired in 1976.
Roosa loved building model airplanes.
Roosa had a personal preference kit, or PPK. These kits hold personal items for each astronaut. Typical PPK items include family photos, organizational flags, T-shirts, ball caps, books, religious texts, and personal mementos. What would you pack to bring into space?
