Lodewijk Van Den Berg, the First Dutch-Born Astronaut, Is Confirmed Dead at 90

The first Dutch-born astronaut has passed away.

Lodewijk van den Berg has been confirmed to have died at the age of 90 on Oct. 16, 2022, according to a tweet from the Association of Space Explorers, the professional organization for astronauts and cosmonauts.

Although van den Berg's cause of death was not included in the Association's tweet, it is possible that the astronaut died of natural causes on account of his advanced age.

Lodewijk van den Berg's Journey To Become An Astronaut

Van den Berg was born on Mar. 23, 1932, in Sluiskil, The Netherlands, and was one of the astronauts that got to space on the Challenger space shuttle months before it exploded and took the lives of Christa McAuliffe and six other astronauts on Jan. 28, 1986, per Space.com.

Van den Berg wasn't supposed to be an astronaut from the get-go. He was initially a chemical engineer with 20 years of accumulated knowledge from research and management experience in the preparation of crystalline materials to grow single crystals of chemical compounds, per NASA.

He also investigated associated defect chemistry and electronic properties of the single crystals of chemical compounds he grew. As such, after receiving his Ph.D., he joined the EG&G Corporation in Goleta, California, where he oversaw the operation of a crystal growing facility.

It was only when he was 53 years old that NASA presented him with the chance to put him on the path of becoming an astronaut. According to Collect Space, NASA invited commercial and research organizations to fly experiments aboard the Challenger.

Van den Berg's contribution to this invitation is the Vapor Crystal Growth System, a payload van den Berg and his colleagues at EG&G designed to advance the preparation of crystalline materials.

However, the experiment, which involves the growth of a mercuric iodide crystal took 137 hours to do. As such, NASA decided that it was better to train a scientist on how to become an astronaut than to train an astronaut to become a scientist, per van den Berg's presentation during the 2011 TEDx Talk.

Van den Berg was enthusiastic about the idea of him becoming an astronaut but was concerned that he didn't meet the physical qualifications to become one due to his age and bad eyesight.

Despite these handicaps, he was still selected to go aboard the Challenger space shuttle and became NASA's prime choice to fly as a payload specialist.

Van Den Berg's Legacy

Thanks To van den Berg's experiment, NASA now knows much about crystal growth in space and the creation of a mercuric iodide crystal used in the creation of X-ray and gamma-ray radiation sensors for medical applications, the defense industry, and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Van den Berg's experience in space even became the focus of a short documentary in 2004 titled "The Forgotten Astronaut."

Additionally, a school in Terneuzen, The Netherlands, and a main belt asteroid were named after him in his honor. These are the Lodewijk College and the 11430 Lodewijkberg asteroid, respectively.

Rest in pace, Lodewijk van den Berg. Thank you for your contribution to science and technology.