Apr 15, 2015 ISSpresso
This espresso machine will be found on eBay in 10 years, just like that Dominos Pizza Rolex. But until then it will be installed on the International Space Station (ISS). The ISSpresso, which is what the experiment is being catalogued as, has just left on SpaceX’s latest supply run to space.
This espresso maker will be the first aboard the space station that crew members can use to make tea, coffee, broth or other hot beverages. But the machine won’t just be up there to serve. It is apparently there to be tested… ‘Proving this technology in microgravity may lead to new or improved brewing methods’.
Crew members may enjoy an ISSpresso beverage using specially designed space cups as part of the Capillary Beverage study—an improvement to the standard drinking pouch with a straw. These specially designed containers use fluid properties such as surface tension to control the beverage in the cup. This test may add to the field of micro-fluidics, used in Earth-based medical and drug delivery applications.