Ten kilograms of mature Dutch cheese are orbiting the earth at this very moment. Dutch astronaut André Kuipers was allowed to pack his own food in addition to the standard meals for his next mission.

He chose to fill the 18 containers - which have been launched in advance - with Old Amsterdam cheese. The Dutchman will be launched into space next month and will catch up with the Dutch speciality just before Christmas.

During his previous space expedition in 2004, Mr Kuipers also took his own supply of cheese with him, but that time he was away for just one week. This mission will take six months. He had to make a special order because both NASA and ESA have special demands on the packaging of food during missions.

A spokesperson for the cheesemaker in the town of Huizen near Amsterdam told Dutch daily AD, “We exchanged a lot of emails on how big the blocks of cheese could be.” 

André Kuipers wanted to take both Old Amsterdam and Maaslander cheese with him but, because there is no refrigeration in space, he was only allowed to take the more mature cheese.

He does not have to worry about running out, because more cheese can be launched into space in January if need be.

(nc/imm)

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