Missing tomato suddenly reappears on the ISS after 8 months

The walls of the ISS are a tangle of wires, equipment, mechanisms and parts. Of course, something can be lost in between. Especially in microgravity, and especially when it concerns something very small, such as a pen or a hair clip or… a juicy tomato harvested in space.

On March 29, it happened: shortly after a harvest of Red-Robin tomatoes for the so-called Veg-05 experiment, NASA astronaut Frank Rubio lost a tomato. The 1 inch thing was in a ziplock bag. It slipped from his hands. The mini incident grew into a major one inside joke among the astronauts. “Yes, yes, Frank. “Lost”. You just ate that tomato.”

But during a live video call with the ISS astronauts yesterday – on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the space station – NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli came up with some funny news: the missing tomato, or at least the completely dried-up remains of it, has been found after eight months. .

“Our good friend Frank Rubio… He was actually accused for a long time of eating the tomato. But we can exonerate him. We have found the tomato,” the American test pilot said, chuckling. Her colleagues confirmed the discovery with a big smile.

In September, Rubio himself had spoken about the missing red dot during an ISS livestream. “I spent so many hours looking for that thing,” he laughed. Without success. “I’m sure the tomato will show up one day and clear my name, many years in the future,” he winked. In October, about two weeks after Rubio had safely landed back on Earth after a record time on the ISS, the American said that the tomato had still not been found, “despite having looked sick.” To be clear, there was never any danger to parts or equipment.

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