When we here at delicious. heard the news that Russian cosmonauts were planning to make a fermented milk drink in space, it was the word “fermented” that immediately caught our attention.

Russians are experts at fermentation. Whether making beer, wine or the regional specialty, kvass, they’ve got the process down to a fine art. (They’re no slouches when it comes to distilling, either, with vodka production and consumption synonymous with the country throughout the world.)

Perhaps we’ve seen too many Hollywood movies in which “Russkies” are stereotyped (some would say slandered) as villains or hapless drunks. Perhaps we’ve read too many alarmist reports about alcoholism in Russia. But when we read that cosmonauts Sergei Rizhikov and Andrei Borisenko were planning to produce a fermented milk-based product on the International Space Station (ISS), we were initially a little hesitant. Do we really need people heading into space to run a home-brewing operation? Aren’t there more important things they could be doing? Do they need a drink that badly?

More fool us. In fact, Rizhikov and Borisenko will be producing a product that may help us with future long-term missions to Mars, the moon and beyond. According to the Yuri A. Gagarin State Scientific Research-and-Testing Cosmonaut Training Center, the plan is to see if it’s possible produce a probiotic product named Probiovit in space. If it is, those slipping the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God will be able to produce it as a means of maintaining their health as they journey into the great unknown.

Of course, if it’s possible to ferment milk on the ISS, then it will be possible to ferment other things, too. We look forward to the first vintage of ISS chardonnay and the first crate of lunar pale ale.

The ISS-49/50 expedition is due to commence next month.