Space station espresso machine a giant leap for mankind
Italian firms overcome technical challenges so astronauts on ISS can get their caffeine fix
Perhaps one of the last barriers to the human conquest of space has been removed - a space-rated espresso machine has now been delivered to the International Space Station (ISS).
The device was made by two Turin-based companies, Lavazza Coffee and engineering firm Argotec. It is called the ISSpresso and was delivered by Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti on Monday when her Soyuz docked at the orbiting habitat.
Making coffee in space is difficult, especially espresso, which relies on water at 94 degrees Celsius passing through ground coffee under high pressure.
On earth, this is achieved with the help of gravity, with the water heated and shot onto ground coffee to drip into the cup. In space there is no up or down, so things don't naturally fall.
Water - and the scalding coffee - would simply form droplets and float away, presenting a hazard both to the astronauts and to the sensitive electronics on board. So the ISSpresso takes water from a pouch and pumps it around the machine.
The water is heated and placed under pressure then fired through a capsule of ground coffee. To guard against accidents, the piping in the ISSpresso can withstand high pressures. The machine itself weighs 20kg, which is the same as all the science instruments on the Philae comet lander put together.