NASA Astronaut Frank Rubio’s Lost Tomato Shows up Eight Months Later After Wandering Around International Space Station
In a bizarre turn of events, NASA astronaut Frank Rubio’s lost tomato has reappeared eight months after it went missing on the International Space Station. The tomato, along with another surprise tomato, had gone missing after being harvested and bagged up for a presentation. The mysterious disappearance of the tomatoes led to some lighthearted accusations among the astronauts, with Rubio being jokingly accused of eating the missing fruit.
The lost tomatoes were part of a batch grown as part of a program called the eXposed Root On-Orbit Test System (XROOTS), which uses hydroponic and aeroponic techniques instead of soil. Rubio, who spent a record-breaking 371 days on the ISS before his return to Earth in September 2023, harvested the tomatoes in March for the VEG-05 study.
The missing tomatoes, which were intended to be shown to schoolkids in an event planned by a crewmember, had baffled Rubio and his fellow astronauts. Despite spending “eight to 20 hours” searching for the missing produce, they were nowhere to be found.
Now, after nearly a year of wandering, the two rogue tomatoes have shown up again, with NASA confirming that they were found in a dry and discolored state, but with no visible microbial or fungal growth.
The discovery of the missing tomatoes has piqued interest in how they managed to evade detection for so long. NASA has been experimenting with growing food on the ISS and studying how the space environment affects plant growth. Rubio’s tomatoes are just one example of the ongoing research being conducted in space.
NASA has assured that the lost tomatoes have been disposed of, but the mystery of their disappearance and reappearance remains unsolved. As we await further information from NASA, the strange saga of the wandering tomatoes continues to captivate space enthusiasts and researchers alike.