We’re never surprised when we find out that a cheese maker we are interviewing has an impressive day job. But, we have to admit, we were dazzled when we found out that Robyn Gatens is the Director of the International Space Station (the first woman to ever hold that position).
She earned her Bachelor of Chemical Engineering degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology. She began working for NASA 36 years ago at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. MFSC is where the Saturn V rocket was developed for the Apollo missions.
She transferred from MSFC to NASA Headquarters in 2012, over a decade after astronauts began living and working at the Space Station (ISS). To date, the ISS has hosted thousands of research experiments from countries around the world. Approximately 240 astronauts from 19 countries have visited the station. The ISS has been continuously occupied since 2000 – students in college today have never known a time when there weren’t humans in space.
In addition to being the Director, Robyn is the agency’s senior expert for environmental control and life support (ECLSS) and crew health and performance systems.
Robyn’s Story
I started making cheese during the pandemic. My husband and and I were already making wine for some years and I was interested in cheese.
My background is chemical engineering so the science of cheesemaking fascinates me, as well as the satisfaction of making something from scratch and experimenting.
Given the demands of my career, I haven’t had as much time as I would have liked to make cheese. I currently have 3 wheels in my fridge (cheddar, Tomme, Gruyere) but have made and consumed or given away other cheddars, feta, Camembert, havarti, mozzarella, ricotta and cream cheese.
How I learned:
I ordered a cheese making book and started there. I quickly found cheesmaking.com as a great resource for supplies, advice and recipes and have been slowly adding to my repertoire and equipment – cultures, different molds, etc.
I’ve had some challenges. My first Camembert turned out great, soft and creamy with a perfect white mold rind. The second time was a fail – the white rind did not fully develop and instead of softening, the cheese just got rock hard.
My havarti turned out more like a cheddar texture – still tasted good though.
I’m really struggling with keeping my cheese cave (a repurposed wine fridge) at a high enough humidity. Putting the individual wheels in their own containers with a damp paper towel works, but I am hoping to figure out how to control the whole fridge humidity so I don’t have to do that. The humidity in a thermoelectric wine fridge is around 40%, too dry for cheese. From reading other blogs, it seems others have the same problem.
I’ve invested in many pieces of equipment I now store in a large bin. I think the various molds are fun to use – I’ve collected several sizes and shapes. The high quality cheese thermometer and temp/humidity sensor from cheesmaking.com is a must have. I used a large canning pot for 4-gallon cheese recipes.
My goals:
I’d like to continue making different types of cheese and perhaps branch out to goat or sheep’s milk cheeses if I can find a source of milk. It’s fun to share my cheese with friends and family (including my dog, Maya, who loves the whey) – everyone loves cheese! I’d love to have more time for cheesemaking. It’s hard to fit in as much as I’d like with my busy career. But I find it really rewarding and a fun change of pace.
Overall, I’ve had more successes than failures and find the learning process really fun! Being an engineer, I get a kick out of solving problems. My husband (also an engineer by discipline, now also in the space business) has enjoyed participating in my cheesemaking, noodling about how he can build me a better press, building new perforated shelves for the fridge, and of course enjoying the results.
Becky Collins Brooks says
This is just so inspirational….and aspirational. I’m unbelievably impressed, and hugely intimidated. The science of cheesemaking is what fascinates me, too, but my background is music, not chemical engineering, so I’ve had a steep learning curve! Thank you so much for sharing your story….loved reading this!
Rita Vance says
Hello Robyn! What a great life you have led! Thank you for your work on the ISS! I have an App on my phone (Sky Guide) that alerts me to the ISS flyovers here in AZ. I stop whatever I am doing, if possible, and run outside to view this wondrous site! It always brings me joy to see it fly overhead…sometimes I wave! In November 2020 we rented a condo on the beach in Ormond Beach, FL and with my sister, the 3 of us watched as SpaceX launched over the ocean. It was so exciting to watch even at that distance. Thank you for your life’s work and to all the other engineers – the research and experiments are for all of us here on earth! I love the photos of your cheese, you, like all the other cheesemakers are inspirational to me. And I cannot end without a note about your sweet girl, Maya, we had a dog who looked somewhat similar – Dalmatian and German Short-hair mix…she was my best friend! Peace, love and good health to us all!
Rebecca says
Robyn,
I too live in NOVA and I started making cheese during COVID. Teleworking full time allowed me try some of the more time consuming cheeses. It’s such a great hobby with delicious results!
Using the “The good milk list” from this website, I was able to find and join wholesomenova.com, where I can get milk from cows, goats and even sheep. They deliver every Thursday though out Northern VA and MD. I think it’s the next best thing to having your own animals.
Robyn Gatens says
Thanks Rebecca! I’ll look into that too – I really want to try sheep’s milk cheeses!
Thanks so much, Rebecca! I looked at the wholesomenova site as well and may give them a try! What’s your favorite cheese that you’ve tried so far?
Robyn, cheers to a fellow chemical engineer! I use my chemical engineering background extensively in my cheese making, although I decided to go into medicine as a career! Now retired, I get to make cheese about once a mont, today making feta and a Spanish blue cheese.
Your career is a true mentor ship for all of us, but especially to those young girls who want to go into engineering! Such a beautiful legacy! Well done, sister!
Your efforts to insure the International Space Station remains viable and a healthy place for astronauts to live and work is admirable.
Your cheeses are beautiful! I have a mountain style tomme in my cheese cave right now. My favorite cheese is Tomme de Savoie, however I’m expecting great things from the Spanish blue!
Peace, love and cheese!
Thank you so much, Charles! Happy to hear from another chemical engineer who loves making cheese. I just cut into the tomme today after 2 months in the cave and I’m pleased with the results. I’ll have to try the Tomme de Savoie. Would love to see your Spanish blue!
Robyn
Try a humidor humidifier. Amazon has one good for an 8 cu fut refrigerator for $93. There are lots of models available.
Thanks for the tip, Paul – I’ll check it out!
Robyn
Robyn, I’m sure you’ve been told many times, your cheeses are out of this world. It is refreshingly inspirational to read how your hobbies intersect with your job in daily life. I have always maintained cheesemaking is art, science, geography, math, ingenuity and intuition all rolled up into one. Thank you for bringing this back into the forefront for our readers. Enjoy your cheese making, thank you for sharing some of your story with our world wide cheese making family. Perhaps someday we will find beings making cheese somewhere beyond our current imaginations.
In Peace, Love and Cheese, Ricki
Hi Ricki! Thanks so much for the encouragement, and I agree cheesemaking is a blend of science, math, art and creativity! I love the idea of extraterrestrial cheese – just need to send a cow to Mars 🙂
Robyn
Robyn, I’m star-struck!
What an astounding career! What an amazing legacy! … and now you’re topping it off with cheese making.
Your wheels are “moons of joy”! What wonderful cheese you’ve made. You’re going to love the white dusting on your Mountain style Tomme if you’re not there already… cheers to all that you’ve done! Cheers to all that’s yet to come!
Cheese on!
Ilda, fellow cheese maker with wine making and “space prom” envy
Hi Ilda, thank you so much! I just cut into my Tomme today and am pleased with the results, though it never really did develop the white dusting, not sure why. I might be my cave conditions, which I’m still tweaking. It’s a learning process!
Cheese on, indeed!
Robyn
I have the same problem with controlling humidity in my wine cooler. The damp paper towel didn’t work for me. I use boxes but battle mold. I would love to hear about it if you found a solution. Your camembert looks lovely!
Thanks Victoria, it seems a lot of folks have trouble controlling the humidity. Someone suggested a humidor in another comment so I may check that out. For now I’m doing the individual boxes but also have to keep an eye on mold. Opening them often and turning the cheese and wiping them helps.
Robyn
Wow cheese makers are always so interesting!
Thanks Margaret, I agree – I love reading everyone’s stories!
Robyn
The best thing I have seen on how to make a cheese cave is from a blog post: <a href="https://blog.cheesemaking.com/yoel-blumbergers-humidity-control-system/” rel=”noopener” target=”_blank”>https://blog.cheesemaking.com/yoel-blumbergers-humidity-control-system/
And the best book I know of is Merryl Winstein’s Successful Cheesemaking.
Thanks Stephanie, I’ll definitely check out those resources – thanks for sharing!
Robyn