Lost tomato found in space, US astronaut 'exonerated'

A tomato grown on the International Space Station (ISS) has been found after eight months, clearing the name of American astronaut Frank Rubio, who was suspected of secretly eating it.

In an interview this week, the astronauts on the ISS announced that they had found a tomato that had been missing for the past 8 months, according to Business Insider. The dwarf cherry tomato, a Red Robin variety, was grown on the ISS as part of NASA's VEG-05 project.

Astronaut Frank Rubio inspects tomato plants on the ISS in October 2022.

The program, which has been underway since late last year, aims to study plant growth, nutritional content, microbiological safety, taste and psychological benefits for astronauts. In addition to tomatoes, many other vegetables are being grown.

After the harvest in March, each astronaut was given a tomato, wrapped in a zip-top bag. However, no one was allowed to eat it afterwards because of concerns about fungal contamination.

During a virtual meeting with schoolchildren, astronaut Frank Rubio tried to take out his tomato to introduce it but couldn't find it, according to CNN. In a zero-gravity environment, objects can fly everywhere if not attached to a wall or stored somewhere.

During the time that followed, Mr. Rubio was teased by his colleagues for secretly eating the tomato. To prove his "innocence", he spent his free time searching for tomatoes. However, he did not have time to do so before he had to return to Earth in September.

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During a press conference on December 6, the remaining seven crew members on the ISS announced that they had found the missing tomato. "Our good friend Frank Rubio has been blamed for eating the tomato for quite some time, but we can clear him up. We found the tomato," NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli said, without revealing its specific location or condition.

In interviews since returning to Earth, Mr. Rubio suggested that his eggplant may have shrunk into an unrecognizable shape. “I’m sure the dried eggplant will show up at some point and vindicate me, years in the future,” Mr. Rubio said, laughing.

Mr. Rubio returned to Earth on September 27 after 371 days on the ISS, a record for an American astronaut. His mission was originally scheduled to last only 6 months, but he was forced to stay longer after a leak was discovered in the spacecraft.

(According to Thanh Nien, December 9)

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