Italian company Lavazza, in cooperation with Argotec's engineering company, announced the design of their coffee machine, named ISSpresso, which would provide fresh coffee to astronauts onboard the International Space Station (ISS).
Argotec also worked with the European Space Agency (ESA) to provide pre-packaged spacefood for the astronauts. The announcement of the plan came after most astronauts stated that they missed coffee a lot while inside the space station.
"Italian coffee is a beverage without borders and we have been thinking about taking the espresso into space for some time," said Guiseppe Lavazza, vice president of Lavazza, in a press release.
The design was not for the conventional coffee machine because that would not work well in space's zero gravity. Instead, Lavazza built a model capsule that would work in space by using the principles of fluid dynamics. The coffee would be dispensed in a sealed pouch and astronauts could drink it through a straw. The makers called the design ISSpresso, named after the ISS.
"The plastic tube carrying the water inside a normal espresso machine has been replaced with a special steel tube designed to withstand pressure of more than 400 bar," Argotec added.
In addition, they explained that the complex machine weighed a total of 20 kilograms. Most of the heavy weight was due to the back-up of all important parts of the machine. The back-up parts were added to address the specifications imposed by the Italian space agency, CNET reported.
The machine underwent testing in Argotec labs, and is scheduled to be delivered to the ISS by November. The Italian space agency will reportedly take care of the payload. The Futura Mission Crew will embark on a historic mission, as this is the first time an Italian female astronaut will venture into space.
