Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Members of an International Space Station crew said astronaut Frank Rubio has now been cleared of allegations he ate one of the first tomatos harvested in space.
NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli said during a live streamed event celebrating the 25th anniversary of the station that the remains of the tiny tomato had been found eight months after being misplaced by Rubio.
"Our good friend Frank Rubio, who headed home [already], has been blamed for quite a while for eating the tomato. But we can exonerate him. We found the tomato," Moghbeli said.
Rubio, who returned to Earth in September, had been the target of joking accusations for months that he had eaten the space-grown fruit.
"I spent so many hours looking for that thing," Rubio said during a September ISS live stream. "I'm sure the desiccated tomato will show up at some point and vindicate me, years in the future."
The astronauts did not reveal where the tomato was found or what its condition was, but Rubio had earlier predicted it would be in a state of advanced decay due to the humidity aboard the station.
bubba160 on December 11st, 2023 at 02:08 UTC »
How humid is the space station? Does mold and stuff grow in there?
cd6020 on December 10th, 2023 at 22:27 UTC »
Basis for a prequel to Attack of the Killer Tomatoes! IMDB
bloodguard on December 10th, 2023 at 20:41 UTC »
This sounds like the beginning of a very macabre end of the world story.
"Attack of the killer tomatoes 2 - It came from space!"