NASA has released images of two tiny tomatoes that went missing in 2022 after astronaut Frank Rubio collected them aboard the International Space Station. A chance find in a six-bedroom complex showed us how the 17% humidity on board affected food in a Ziploc bag; Rubio temporarily placed the food inside, but saw the food fly away in the meantime.

“Almost a year after the tomatoes first disappeared, the fruit was found dried and slightly crushed in a plastic bag.” NASA officials released an updated statement on Thursday, December 14, without revealing the exact location of the find. “Other than some discoloration, there was no visible microbial or fungal growth on it.”

Rubio has only mentioned one missing tomato before; NASA said it was grown as part of the eXposed Root In-Orbit Test System, or XROOTS, experiment in 2022 (not VEG-05 in 2023, as previously reported in the media). The agency added that it uses hydroponic and aeroponic methods to grow plants without soil or other growing media and could provide viable solutions for plant systems needed for future space exploration missions.

While this discovery was a light moment for Rubio, who returned home after a year-long mission, NASA added that the main purpose of growing food on the ISS was to implement techniques that could be used in the future. There are multiple experiments to provide fresh food to astronauts.

While VEG-05 tested the production of dwarf tomatoes and other food crops, the new Planet Habitat-03 “is one of the first studies of multiple generations of plants on the space station and could help researchers evaluate genetic adaptations in a single generation. Plants grown in space can be passed on to the next.” (Habitat-03 is currently tucked away on the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, awaiting return to Earth later this month; unfortunately the better-known XROOTS tomatoes have been discarded.)

Space food also has an intangible benefit. “The benefits of growing plants in space don’t end there,” NASA officials added. “Astronauts report that time spent gardening has psychological benefits, improving quality of life in space and boosting morale.”