Lodewijk van den Berg

The first Dutch-born astronaut to have been to space is Lodewijk van den Berg. He was born on 24 March 1932 in Sluiskil, Zeeland. Van den Berg was launched aboard Space Shuttle Challenger on April 29, 1985, as a Payload Specialist of mission STS-51B. During the seven-day mission, he conducted several experiments on crystal growth.