NASA shares ‘saucy story of two rogue tomatoes’ lost in space for eight months

Other than some discoloration, it showed no visible microbial or mold growth.

Washington: NASA has shared the “daring story of two rogue tomatoes” lost eight months ago aboard the International Space Station (ISS) by astronaut Frank Rubio due to lack of gravity. Rubio accidentally lost track of the tomatoes while harvesting for the eXposed Root On-Orbit Test System (XROOTS) experiment he conducted aboard the space station in 2022, the US space agency said on X.

The fruit was found dried out and slightly squashed in a plastic bag.

Other than some discoloration, it showed no visible microbial or mold growth.

“One small step for tomatoes, one giant leap for the plant,” read the message.

“Two rogue tomatoes were recovered after roaming the station for almost a year. NASA astronaut Frank Rubio accidentally lost the fruit while harvesting for XROOTS, an experiment using plants without soil,” it added.

Growing food is one of many studies ripe for long-duration spaceflight missions to the moon and Mars. The XROOTS experiment uses hydroponic and aeroponic techniques to grow plants without soil or other growing media and could provide suitable solutions for plant systems needed for future space exploration missions.

Although the rogue tomatoes found in the XROOTS experiment will not return to Earth for analysis because they were discarded, plant research continues aboard the space station with Plant Habitat-03, returning to Earth during upcoming landing of SpaceX’s 29th commercial resupply mission.

Rubio, who spent a record 371 days aboard the ISS, also conducted another a-peeling experiment for the VEG-05 study, which helps address the need for a continuous fresh food production system in the space.

In addition to furthering research, astronauts report that there are psychological benefits to the time they spend gardening, increasing their quality of life in space and boosting their morale.