The thriller of the lacking tomato in area has in spite of everything been solved.Most likely extra importantly, an blameless guy unjustly accused of consuming the contemporary produce whilst aboard the World House Station has been absolved of blame.Astronaut Frank Rubio made historical past in September when his 371 days in orbit made him the American with the document for the longest spaceflight. However sooner than he departed the distance station aboard an Earth-bound tablet, Rubio evolved just a little notoriety amongst his colleagues – all in excellent amusing, after all.When Rubio’s proportion of a tomato harvested in March aboard the distance station went lacking, the 47-year-old astronaut naturally changed into suspect primary. It took months, however Rubio’s identify has in spite of everything been cleared.NASA crewmembers aboard the station took phase in a livestreamed match Wednesday to have a good time the World House Station’s twenty fifth anniversary, the place they’d a confession to make. Towards the top of the dialog, astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli got here blank a few fresh discovery.”We may have discovered one thing that any individual were on the lookout for for fairly awhile,” Moghbeli mentioned as she and her crewmates shared fun.Ghost galaxy:Historic ‘monster’ galaxy shrouded in mud detected by way of NASARed dwarf tomato used to be a part of NASA experimentThe Crimson Robin dwarf tomato in query used to be a part of a March 29 off-Earth harvest.As a part of the Veg-05 experiment, which Rubio himself had tended because it skilled an surprising humidity drop, astronauts had been requested to consume tomatoes grown beneath other gentle therapies and charge them in keeping with elements like taste, texture and juiciness.However sooner than the previous Military physician and helicopter pilot may take a look at his proportion, it floated away in a Ziploc bag someplace aboard an area station as huge as a six-bedroom space, in keeping with House.com.”I spent such a lot of hours on the lookout for that factor,” Rubio joked all the way through a September livestream dialog with senior NASA control. “I am positive the desiccated tomato will display up in the future and vindicate me, years one day.”‘We discovered the tomato’In what would possibly come as a aid to Rubio, it ended up taking months ‒ no longer years ‒ to seek out the wayward tomato.Rubio, who has lengthy since returned to Earth, did not have the excitement of being aboard the distance station by the point no matter used to be left of the produce used to be came upon.Rubio, a Salvadorian-American born in Los Angeles, landed Sept. 27 in a far flung house of Kazakhstan with the 2 cosmonauts with whom he embarked greater than a yr previous for what they idea can be a six-month challenge. Alternatively, problems with a Russian Soyuz tablet requiring a alternative greater than doubled his keep in area.Thankfully, his departure did not imply the quest for the purple tomato got here to an finish. Moghbeli’s admission got here Wednesday when NASA’s Affiliate Administrator Bob Cabana cheekily requested whether or not the astronauts had discovered the rest way back out of place.”Our excellent pal Frank Rubio who headed house has been blamed for fairly awhile for consuming the tomato,” Moghbeli mentioned. “However we will exonerate him: we discovered the tomato.”Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending information for USA TODAY. Succeed in him at elagatta@gannett.com