The mystery of the missing tomatoes on the International Space Station has finally been solved

“Tomatoes were lost for eight months in the orbiting laboratory Its location has been determined“, as Gizmodo reports, “Astronaut clears Frank Rubio of hilarious claims he ate it.”

NASA Vegetable experiment-05, a project focused on growing fruits and vegetables in space, experienced an unusual turn of events when a Red Robin dwarf tomato disappeared shortly after being harvested in March. These tomatoes have finally been found, and are part of a study to explore the feasibility of continuous production of fresh food in space, NASA astronaut Yasmine Moghbeli revealed during an expedition. Live broadcast On December 6..

The Veg-05 project expanded space farming to include dwarf tomatoes, exploring how light and fertilizer variations affect fruit growth, safety, and nutritional value (and yes, Tomatoes are fruits(Not vegetables)… After harvest in March, each astronaut received a tomato sample stored in a Ziploc bag. However, concerns about possible fungal contamination prompted NASA to instruct astronauts not to eat the fruit, Space.com reported. mentioned.

News of the missing tomatoes first surfaced on September 13, during an event Commemorating Rubio’s year-long stay in orbit. Rubio, who had a long mission to the International Space Station due to a malfunction in the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, lamented the loss of his share of tomatoes, which floated away before he could take a bite. Rubio, who spent a record 371 days in space, reflected on the missing tomato, saying: “I’ve spent many hours searching for this thing. I’m sure the sun-dried tomatoes will appear at some point and exonerate me, after years of absence.” future.”
In the live broadcast, Moghbeli did not specify where the one-inch-wide red dwarf tomato was located on the 356-foot-tall space station. The Guardian notes“Or in any case.”
The Rubio tomato turned out to be one of only 12 red dwarfs that successfully germinated and grew to maturity in space during the Veg-05 project, compared to more than 100 in a parallel experiment conducted on Earth, according to NASA.

Thanks to Slashdot reader christoban for sharing the news.