A puzzling situation in space lasted for eight months, but now it’s finally solved! A tomato grown in space went missing, and NASA astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) recently found it.
During a livestream interview on Wednesday, the team of astronauts on the ISS shared the happy news that they had found the missing space-grown tomato. It adds a bit of humor to their space mission and highlights the exciting challenges of living and working in space.
The 1-inch-wide (2.5 centimeters) Red Robin dwarf tomato was a part of the final harvest for the Veg-05 experiment. The Veg-05 experiment is the next step in addressing the need for a continuous fresh-food production system in space.
NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli said during a live-streamed event on Wednesday (December 6) that celebrated the ISS’ 25th anniversary, “Our good friend Frank Rubio, who headed home [already], has been blamed for quite a while for eating the tomato. But we can exonerate him. We found the tomato.”
The story of the missing tomato became public on September 13 during a livestream with astronaut Frank Rubio. At that time, Rubio humorously mentioned the situation, saying he had spent much time searching for the tomato. He jokingly expressed confidence that the lost tomato would eventually be found, vindicating him, possibly years later.
Now, with the recent discovery of the lost tomato by the ISS crew, it seems that Rubio’s prediction came true sooner than expected, adding a lighthearted and amusing twist to the space mission.