When We All Relocate to Space, At Least We'll Have Espresso
At parties—which I go to a lot—the question is often raised: if you were to travel to space, what would be the one earthly thing you’d have trouble giving up? FRESH COFFEE, we all yell. Samantha Cristoforetti, an Italian astronaut at the International Space Station, has proven that we will never have to go without espresso when we float above Earth.
Cristoferetti, who sadly only has one week left at ISS, used an espresso machine in space over the weekend, making her the first astronaut to ever blithely drink a quick cup of the fresh-made stuff while looking down on Earth. Previously astronauts were tasked with drinking NASA instant brew coffee through a straw. No, grazie.
The espresso machine, which uses similar technology to those dreaded K-cup devices, is designed to work in a microgravity environment. For a while, it was thought that Cristoforetti might not get the espresso jolt she so desired, as shipments to ISS were delayed from January. Thankfully, the delivery came just in the nick of time:
"Coffee: the finest organic suspension ever devised." Fresh espresso in the new Zero-G cup! To boldly brew... pic.twitter.com/Zw2CllJgzF
May 3, 2015
For the curious, here’s a little about how the machine works.
Happening NOW in space: @AstroSamantha is brewing the first @Lavazza #ISSpresso aboard @Space_Station @esa pic.twitter.com/BnRmLNH1xM
May 3, 2015
Espresso in space: it’s not rocket science ;).
Image via NASA/Twitter. Contact the author at dayna.evans@gawker.com.