Odd

Cheese blasted into space for Dutch astronaut

Published Monday, Nov 28 2011, 00:19 GMT | By Daniel Sperling | Add comment

A Dutch astronaut has been sent 5kg of his favourite cheese for his next trip into space.

53-year-old Andre Kuipers wrote to the makers of Old Amsterdam cheese requesting some samples for a five-month mission on board the International Space Station.

"Andre is a big fan of our cheese and asked us in a letter to arrange with space authorities to see if we could send up some of his favourite Old Amsterdam," a spokesperson told AFP.

"After numerous emails to NASA and the European Space Agency, they agreed to send up around 10 kilogrammes (22 pounds)."

The representative added that the cheese, which was specially cut and wrapped for the extraordinary order, was sent to the Space Station on a cargo rocket that launched in Kazakhstan at the end of October.

An additional 5kg is due to be sent into orbit in January.

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