A tomato caused a stir: it not only grew on the ISS, but also disappeared there. Now one astronaut is particularly relieved.
A mystery has been solved on the International Space Station (ISS) that caused accusations and, above all, a lengthy search. Because the astronauts had lost something – something that shouldn’t happen on a high-tech facility like the ISS. But it wasn’t a screw or a tool. It was a tomato. It was harvested by astronaut Frank Rubio in March as part of a botanical experiment – apparently the first to ever grow in space. But then she mysteriously disappeared, as the American broadcaster NPR reported. It was rumored that Rubio might have eaten them.
“I thought I had sealed the bag”
When Rubio returned after 371 days in space, he was immediately asked about the tomato in October. “I had put them in a little bag, a colleague was having a meeting with school children and I thought it would be cool to show them there,” he said at a press conference. He was sure he had sealed the bag – but when he checked later, it was gone. She had probably become independent in weightlessness. Rubio said he spent up to 20 hours searching for the rare fruit.