It should be pretty easy to find something when you’re onboard the International Space Station — how many places could it be? Apparently, it’s not quite that easy. A missing tomato sparked a lighthearted mystery for the astronauts aboard the ISS, and it’s finally been solved after 8 months of accusations and intrigue. What is likely one of the first tomatoes ever harvested in space was plucked by astronaut Frank Rubio (pictured above) in March and the event shared in a post on social media by NASA. So, when the tomato came up missing, all fingers pointed to Rubio, who returned to Earth at the end of September and spoke at a NASA briefing in October, where he addressed the tomato eating allegations. He explained that NASA is conducting botany studies onboard the ISS so astronauts could figure out ways to grow fresh food in space for longer term missions. He said he put the tomato in a little bag because one of his crewmates was conducting an event with some school children and he thought it would be cool to show the kids the first tomato ever harvested in space. “I was pretty confident that I Velcroed it where I was supposed to Velcro it, and then I came back and it was gone,” said Rubio. He estimated that he spent between 8 and 20 hours searching for the lost fruit. Earlier this week, astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli said in a NASA video chat from the ISS, “We might have found something that someone has been looking for for quite a while.” It turns out that the crew found the tomato. The astronauts didn't reveal where the tomato was found or what its condition was, but Rubio had earlier predicted that it would be in a state of advanced decay due to the humidity aboard the station. At least he can now walk the Earth with a cleared name.
