Image source: EPFL
On April 8th, 2016, an unmanned space cargo ship blasted off on its re-supply mission carrying about 3 cubic tons of food, water, clothes and scientific materials to the international space station (ISS), where a crew of six astronauts currently live and work.
However this time, there was a sweet surprise inside the cargo — along with robots, 3D printers and other components to support the multiple science experiments — each astronaut received a small box of Swiss chocolates.
NASA has a strict policy against advertising of any of the commercial brands, but we were happy to learn that these chocolates were crafted by HUG, the same chocolate maker that we have entrusted with our own chocolate formula for SWISS ELEMENT 365 chocolates. Clearly, NASA knows about good chocolates!
The special delivery was sponsored by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI), but masterminded and handled by the Swiss Space Center (SSC), at the famed Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne, EPFL. In the words of the SSC’s director, Volker Gass, “the aim is to encourage and support the astronauts in their work in a symbolic way that reflects our country’s spirit and culture.”
