ISS

The defendant was Frank Rubio, who grew vegetables on the ISS. What crime did he commit?

Who ate the tomato?

Frank Rubio worked hard to grow red robin tomatoes, which are also popular in Poland, especially in pots on balconies because the plants are small. It’s not an easy task at all on the International Space Station, but he finally managed to collect some fruit about 3 cm in diameter in March 2023. This ended the Veg-05 project – one of a series of experiments examining the possibilities of growing edible plants outside Earth (Shane Kimbrough grew lettuce). The results of these experiments will help assess our chances of survival if we leave our planet for a longer period of time or build colonies on the Moon or Mars.

Astronauts present on the ISS then received tomatoes to assess their taste. Everyone except the space gardener himself. Frank Rubio claimed that his tomato, locked in a ziplock bag, disappeared. His companions accused him of eating his sample and making unnecessary fuss.

The press learned about the case of the missing tomato on September 13 on a completely different occasion. Frank Rubio was then conducting a conference call about the extended stay on the ISS. Problems with the Soyuz capsule meant it spent a full year in orbit instead of 6 months. In the face of these problems, the missing tomato seems trivial, but it came up in the conversation anyway.

Rubio then said he spent hours looking for the missing tomato. He also expressed hope that the dried fruit would eventually be found and that the scientist would be exonerated.

And he actually found it! On December 6, astronauts from the ISS held a teleconference to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the launch of the International Space Station. During the celebration, they announced that… the tomato had been found! Frank Rubio was cleared of the charges and can sleep soundly.

Unfortunately, we don’t know where exactly it was found. However, the investigation into the case can be closed after almost 8 months.

How can you lose something on the ISS?

It is necessary to explain here that the ISS is not a small capsule rushing around the Earth. Its dimensions are 94 by 73 meters, and the interior resembles a maze of small rooms full of equipment and tools. Some of the items have been there for 25 years and it is simply not possible to have an accurate inventory of all the items. The volume of the rooms in which astronauts do not have to wear spacesuits is over a thousand cubic meters, and there are plenty of nooks and crannies where a 2.5-centimeter tomato can die.

With almost zero gravity, objects tend to levitate and move in directions that are difficult to determine. NASA procedures recommend checking air intakes into ventilation systems in such situations – things may be attracted to them by the air current. However, if this does not help… look for a needle in a haystack.

Air humidity on the ISS is only 17%. After a few weeks in such conditions, the fruit has certainly undergone natural mummification and no longer even resembles a tomato.

Frank Rubio returned to Earth on October 13 after 371 days on the ISS. During the press conference, he expressed great regret about the tomato, which had not been found since March. Rubio himself looked for it for a good 20 hours (or so he claims to spice things up). The relaxation was needed – Rubio’s mission was to last only 6 months. He himself admitted that if he had known that he would spend over a year away from his family and friends… he would not have signed up for the experiment and would have stayed on Earth.