The NASA astronaut Frank Rubio returned to Earth in September after finishing the longest single spaceflight for an American astronaut and needed to confront one small, crimson mark on his legacy: He had misplaced a tomato someplace within the Worldwide House Station.
The tomato’s disappearance, he defined, had led to hypothesis that he had eaten it in secret, thus consuming essential scientific analysis in a match of need for recent produce whereas he was orbiting Earth.
“A proud second of harvesting the primary tomato in area grew to become a self-inflicted wound of shedding the primary tomato in area,” Mr. Rubio stated in an interview with NASA in October by which he mentioned his record-setting 371 days in area.
The thriller of the tomato was resolved, and Mr. Rubio’s identify cleared, on Wednesday throughout a separate interview from the NASA Johnson House Middle in Houston with the crew presently aboard the area station.
“Our good buddy Frank Rubio, who headed residence, has been blamed for fairly some time for consuming the tomato, however we will exonerate him,” stated Maj. Jasmin Moghbeli. “We discovered the tomato.”
Main Moghbeli didn’t describe the tomato’s situation or the place it had been discovered. NASA didn’t instantly reply to emailed questions on Monday.
The tomato was grown as a part of a undertaking to check how air- and water-based rising methods affected crops.
Mr. Rubio stated in an interview with NASA this yr that considered one of his favourite science tasks on the area station was learning the tomato plant. “I really like working with that little plant and seeing it develop and develop,” he stated.
Although the Worldwide House Station is comparatively small, there may be loads of room for a tiny tomato to vanish. The area station is 356 ft lengthy and has six sleeping quarters, two loos and a fitness center, in response to NASA.
Then there may be the ceaseless expanse exterior it. Maj. Moghbeli was considered one of two astronauts who misplaced a software bag in area in November whereas performing upkeep on the area station.
Nobody had prompt that the tomato was floating in area. As a substitute, the suspicion landed squarely on Mr. Rubio.
NASA’s deputy administrator, Pam Melroy, teased Mr. Rubio in regards to the lacking tomato in September, asking if he had eaten it.
“I want I had at this level, as a result of I feel all people thinks I did,” Mr. Rubio responded, laughing.
Again on Earth in October, Mr. Rubio stated in an interview with NASA that he had put the tomato in a bit bag to point out it to a bunch of scholars who have been about to have a name with considered one of his crewmates.
“I used to be fairly assured that I Velcroed it the place I used to be speculated to Velcro it, after which I got here again and it was gone,” he stated.
Mr. Rubio then commenced a seek for the lacking tomato, which he estimated took between eight and 20 hours. “I needed to search out it largely so I might show, like, ‘I didn’t eat the tomato,’” he stated.
He guessed that the tomato had “desiccated to the purpose the place you couldn’t inform what it was” and will have been thrown away.
Mr. Rubio stated, “Hopefully, any person will discover it sometime, some little shriveled factor in a Ziploc bag, and so they can show the truth that I didn’t eat the tomato in area.”