The Astronaut Memorial Grove is a stand of oak trees near Building 110 at the Johnson Space Center, each one planted for an astronaut or space pioneer who has died. It began in 1986 with a small grove for the crew of the shuttle Challenger, and a tree has been added for each death since. By 2012, when an oak was dedicated to Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, hers stood among 62 others. The grove honors the crews lost in the three disasters of the American program: Apollo 1, burned on the launch pad in January 1967; Challenger, lost on 28 January 1986; and Columbia, which broke apart over Texas on 1 February 2003. It also honors astronauts who died of other causes and other NASA officials. Johnson Space Center employees gather there for a memorial service each year, and new trees are dedicated in ceremonies of their own. In January 2017, for the fiftieth anniversary of the Apollo 1 fire, the service was paired with a tree planting for Edgar Mitchell, the sixth man to walk on the Moon.
The grove follows a master plan PDG Architects helped NASA draw up, and it was added to the narration of the visitor tram tour in 2003, after the loss of Columbia.
Getting there
29.5519, -95.0924
Locations are approximate and may be inaccurate, on private land, or otherwise inaccessible. Check before you travel.
Hear it from the road
Whistlestop is an audio tour guide app that tells you this story automatically when you drive past. No searching, no tapping, nothing to ask.
