ISS Crewmembers Receive Dragon Capsule Carrying First Ever Espresso Machine Built for Space
ByFor the first time, crewmembers aboard the International Space Station (ISS) will be able to sip their coffee rather than drink it out of a straw.
NASA spokesman Dan Huot confirmed to the Los Angeles Times a specially made espresso maker and a set of zero gravity cups are safely aboard the floating science lab. Unlike the coffee drinking apparatus that already existed on the ISS, the espresso cups have an open spout, allowing for the crewmembers to smell their java.
Huot said the Italian aerospace firm Argotec helped Lavazza, a coffee company from the same country, design the espresso maker and cups.
"Something as simple as being able to smell your morning coffee can go a long way," he told the Times.
Huot said the cups use "surface tension to mimic the effects of gravity." The machine, which will also be able to make tea and broth, works like a Keurig coffee maker, in that it produces one cup at a time.
As cool as the espresso may be, especially for Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, ISS crewmembers are not holding it to a particularly high priority. Also packed within the SpaceX Dragon capsule that docked Friday morning are food products and science equipment.
Huot told the Times, "There's a lot of science on board that's going to take priority."