Two lost tomatoes on the space station were found (video)

Facebook Tweet PinShares

NASA astronaut Frank Rubio lost track of two tomatoes while harvesting for the Exposed Root On-Orbit Test System (XROOTS) experiment aboard the space station in 2022.

Two lost tomatoes on the space station. (Image credit: NASA)

Growing plants on the International Space Station (ISS) is essential because astronauts stay there for long periods of time. It makes them self-sustainable and provides a cleaner breathing environment.

XROOTS experiment uses hydroponic and aeroponic techniques to grow plants without soil or other growth media and could provide suitable solutions for plant systems needed for future space exploration missions.

The current ISS crew members (Expedition 70 crew) found the lost tomatoes nearly a year after their initial disappearance in December 2023.

The fruits were found in a plastic bag that was dehydrated and slightly squished, with some discoloration but no visible microbial or fungal growth.

These tomatoes from the XROOTS experiment will not be taken back to Earth for analysis as they were discarded.

The story of the missing tomatoes

Who is on the International Space Station right now?

Currently there are seven crew members on the International Space Station (ISS) according to NASA.

Current ISS crew members from left to right: Roscosmos cosmonaut Nikolai Chub, Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov, ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, JAXA astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara. (Image credit: NASA Johnson Space Center)

Current crew members at ISS	Role	Space agency	Nationality
Andreas Mogensen	Commander	ESA	Danish
Jasmin Moghbeli	Flight Engineer	NASA	American
Satoshi Furukawa	Flight Engineer	JAXA	Japanese
Loral O’Hara	Flight Engineer	NASA	American
Konstantin Borisov	Flight Engineer	Roscosmos	Russian
Oleg Kononenko	Flight Engineer	Roscosmos	Russian
Nikolai Chub	Flight Engineer	Roscosmos	Russian