Missing Tomato Of Frank Rubio Found In Space Station 8 Months Later
For 25 years, that is, until this week, when the seven astronauts on board the International Space Station said that the missing tomato found in space station.
Author:Rhyley CarneyReviewer:Paula M. GrahamDec 11, 202321.3K Shares309.7K Views
The first tomato grown in space has been missing for a long time, and no one knows where it went. For 25 years, that is, until this week, when the seven astronauts on board the International Space Station said that the missing tomato found in space station.
In space, US astronaut Francisco "Frank" Rubio grew this tomato from seed as part of an experiment in farming. When the fruit went missing for no clear reason more than eight months ago, Rubio was accused of having eaten it.
Missing Tomato Found In Space Station
The mystery in space that went lost has been found. More importantly, a man who was wrongly accused of eating fresh food while on the International Space Station has been found not guilty.
In September, Frank Rubio became the first American to hold the record for the longest space trip with 371 days in orbit. But before he left the space station in a rocket headed for Earth, Rubio became a bit famous among his coworkers. It was all good fun, of course.
When Rubio's share of a tomato picked in March on the space station went missing, the 47-year-old scientist was the first person that people thought was responsible. His name has finally been cleared after months of trouble.
The red-robin tomato was picked as part of a NASA test to see if it is possible to grow food in space for future trips that last longer. Rubio said it was a proud moment until he lost track of the fresh, meaty food, which was a service up in space.
In an October conversation with NASA, Rubio said:
“„I harvested, I think, what was the first tomato in space, and I put it in a little bag.- Frank Rubio
In the end, he took the tomato out of its protective Ziploc bag to show some students the valuable fruit, but he couldn't find it again.
“„I was pretty confident that I Velcroed it where I was supposed to Velcro it, and then I came back and it was gone.- Frank Rubio
It might have stayed one of the biggest mysteries of the universe, never to be solved, until the crew of the International Space Station (ISS) made a strange find not long ago. Jasmin Moghbeli, an astronaut from NASA, told space.com:
“„Our good friend Frank Rubio has been blamed for quite a while for eating the tomato. But we can exonerate him. We found the tomato.- Jasmin Moghbeli
She didn't say where on the 356-foot-tall space station the 1-inch-wide red mini tomato was or what kind of shape it was in.
But the news that it existed will have been good news for Rubio, a lieutenant colonel in the US Army who came back to Earth on September 27 after being in space for a record 371 days, longer than any other US astronaut in history.
At his briefing after landing, he talked about how sad he was to lose the tomato, which had been grown as part of an experiment to learn more about how to feed astronauts on long trips. He was afraid that he would forever be known as a tomato thief. He told reporters, adding that he had spent up to 20 hours looking for it after it went missing during a picking operation.
“„Hopefully somebody will find it someday, a little shriveled thing.- Frank Rubio
The ISS has its own system for growing vegetables, called Veggie. For many scientists, one of the best parts of being in space is getting to work on it. Even though the tomato accident happened, Rubio spoke fondly of his time growing and harvesting, and NASA officials say the work provides invaluable information that will help future pilots.
According to NASA, the Rubio tomato was one of only 12 red dwarfs that sprouted and grew to maturity in space during the Veg-05 project. In a similar experiment done on Earth, more than 100 tomatoes did the same thing.
Last Words
A puzzle about food in space has been solved. The pieces of a tiny tomato that NASA astronaut Frank Rubio lost while harvesting food in space in March finally showed up on the International Space Station (ISS) after more than eight months.
The small thing that happened became a big joke among Rubio's friends in the fall. The Red Robin dwarf tomato, which was 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide, was part of the last crop for the Veg-05 experiment. Rubio had grown it himself and helped it through some rough spots.
Rhyley Carney
Author
Paula M. Graham
Reviewer
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