PRESERVE 50/250 is a historical scientific and artistic initiative marking the 250th anniversary of the United States.

The project’s mission is to continue the story of America by preserving its natural and symbolic past through a lunar seed bank.

The project will collect seeds from each U.S. state’s official tree and encase the seed samples in a preservation vessel.

In collaboration with Astrolab, LifeShip, Artists for Humanity, and The Nation Arboretum, the vessel will be transported to the Moon aboard Astrolab’s FLEX rover, scheduled to land in March of 2027 at the Nobile region near the Moon’s south pole.

The seeds and their DNA will remain preserved on the moon for millions of years.

Accompanying the seeds, a NanoFiche archival plate will store the trees’ DNA sequences.