Call it Spud-nick. An image of a tentacled growth in space has caused an uproar online with freaked-out viewers imploring astronauts to “kill it with fire.” Viral photos showed the floating, purple egg-shaped object with tendrils exploding out of it like the poster for the 1979 sci-fi horror flick “Alien.

A NASA astronaut recently sent the internet into a frenzy when he posted an alien-looking photo on social media. The photo posted by Don Pettit depicts what appears to be an egg-shaped object with tentacles spouting out of it prompting followers who may have seen too many science fiction movies to assume extra terrestrial life.

The eerie purple orb freaking out social media is actually Spudnik-1, a homegrown ISS potato pointing to NASA's plans for food on Moon and Mars trips.

The internet did a double-take after NASA Astronaut Don Pettit shared a photo from the International Space Station that looked, at first glance, like something from a sci-fi movie. The purple, alien-looking object appeared to have a tentaclelike sprout on one side and a strange patch on the other,

A 'space potato' grown aboard the ISS went viral for its alien look, but NASA astronaut Don Pettit says it highlights future food needs in space.

The Cosmic Report brings you this week’s weirdest space moments, from a meteorite smashing through a Houston roof to a potato causing UFO panic on the ISS, plus NASA’s $4 billion telescope surviving a literal sonic assault.

A strange, tentacled object that went viral online was revealed to be a space-grown purple potato. Astronaut Don Pettit cultivated the unusual specimen during a microgravity gardening experiment, highlighting the potential for future food production beyond Earth.

An image of a strange, tentacled object has been circulating online, with some comparing it to something out of a sci-fi movie. But what is it really? The viral post, shared on X by NASA astronaut Don Pettit,