Lost Tomato on ISS Found After Eight Months, Exonerating Astronaut Frank Rubio

The tomato, part of NASA's Veg-05 experiment exploring the feasibility of fresh-food production in space, was found during the 25th-anniversary celebration of the ISS.

Astronaut Frank Rubio, who spent a record 371 days in space due to a malfunctioning Russian Soyuz spacecraft, lost a Red Robin dwarf tomato shortly after it was harvested in March as part of NASA's Veg-05 experiment.
The tomato, part of a study to explore the feasibility of continuous fresh-food production in space, was found eight months later, exonerating Rubio who had been blamed for eating it.
The Veg-05 project expanded the scope of in-space farming to include dwarf tomatoes, exploring how lighting and fertilizer variations influence fruit growth, safety, and nutritional value.
Following the harvest in March, each astronaut received a tomato sample stored in a Ziploc bag. However, concerns about potential fungal contamination led NASA to instruct the astronauts not to consume the fruit.
The resolution of this culinary cosmic mystery came during the 25th-anniversary celebration of the ISS.