The produce that went missing on Frank's watch was found on the International Space Station. Many people were left with a burning question, what does a tomato that's been floating around in zero gravity look like? It's not one tomato in question, but two, and the space agency shared the photo last week along with a detailed description of the experiment. The astronauts found the tomato remains and came clean, so he took the blame. NASA said that there was no visible growth of any kind on the fruit, which was found in a plastic bag. "I didn't eat this tomato."
NASA says that while on the space station, he accidentally lost track of the tomatoes he was harvesting for the XROOTS experiment. The tomatoes were thought to be part of a different experiment, but they were much older than had been thought. After his return to Earth in September, the American who had spent an American record 361 days in space, addressed the lighthearted scandal in a media briefing. "I was pretty confident that I had put it where I was supposed to put it, but I came back and it was gone," he said. I spent up to 20 hours looking for that tomato, so I could prove that I didn't eat it. Someone mistook the fruit for garbage and threw it away, according to a former Army doctor and helicopter pilot. According to NASA, the tomatoes were in a bag for almost a year before other space station crew members found them. The crew of the International Space Station admitted as much when they took part in a livestreamed event to celebrate the 25th anniversary. "Our good friend Frank Rubio who headed home has been blamed for eating the tomato for a long time, but we found the tomatoes, so we can exonerate him," said the astronauts.
The rogue tomatoes were part of an experiment to find solutions for plant systems on future space missions. NASA says that it has helped scientists understand how to grow small crops in space, as well as improving plant growing techniques for food on Earth. During his year on the space station, he took part in other produce-growing experiments. The study sought to address the need for a continuous fresh-food production system in space by using the station's veggie facility to grow dwarf tomatoes. The research team studied the impact of light quality on fruit production. While we know what the tomatoes looked like, those waiting for NASA to reveal where exactly produce was found may have to wait a little longer.