European Space Agency astronaut André Kuipers sent the postcard from the International Space Station last week, 400km above the Earth.

The postcard went to an 11-year-old girl, Emma, who suffers from Maroteaux-Lamy syndrome, a rare chronic degenerative disease.

PostNL’s KaartWereld.nl service allows the sending of greetings cards or postcards from a website, allowing people to send items electronically using a smartphone or tablet as well as a personal computer, with the items then turned into a physical mailpiece in a printing facility.

Kuipers took a photo of himself in space that he then uploaded to the system before adding a personal message to Emma and sending the card electronically to the PostNL production centre.

Production partners on the physical side of the service include PostNL subsidiary Euromail and also supplier Pondres, the print marketing firm based in Tilburg. Cards created before 6pm are delivered next day, PostNL says.

PostNL spokesman Marc Potma told Post&Parcel that Kaartwereld.nl has been up and running for more than 10 years, although it started life under the name Kaartservice, rebranding to the current form in November.

Emma, who suffers from Maroteaux-Lamy syndrome, was the first person to receive a postcard sent from space

“Over time, the online card service has evolved in terms of functionality from online address database management, with improvement of the workflow to apps for handheld devices,” he explained.

Kuipers is currently on a 148-day mission in the International Space Station, taking part in experiments related to the impacts on humans exploring space.

The astronaut is an ambassador for the WE Foundation, a Dutch organisation raising awareness of and promoting research into metabolic diseases such as Emma’s Maroteaux-Lamy syndrome.

Source: Post&Parcel/PostNL

Tags: hybrid mail, Kaartwereld, Netherlands, PostNL