recycled urine beverage (Photo : YouTube)
The "ISSpresso" urine-powered coffee machine is included in the various supplies the space transport service SpaceX is preparing to deliver to the International Space Station (ISS) astronauts on April 6, Monday.
The coffee maker was the idea of Luca Parmitano and Paolo Nespoli, two Italian astronauts. While visiting the ISS they realized that it lacked an espresso machine. Dubbed by astronauts as "yesterday's coffee," the Italian-made machine uses urine and produces java from recycled urine's water.
Known as the "ISSpresso," the device was developed by coffee company Lavazza and aerospace business Argotec, both Italian companies, in collaboration with the Italian Space Agency.
Lavazza vice president Giuseppe Lavazza explains that his company has been considering espressos in space for "some time." On the other hand, this is not the first food product that Argotec has helped to produce as the company also developed space meals for European astronauts who flew to the ISS.
Described by Lavazza as a "social network" in outer space, "ISSpresso" will give the astronauts a chance to chat and relax.
For the past 13 years, ISS residents have only had the option of instant coffee. Now, astronauts have the opportunity to "enjoy" a quality espresso.
The espresso machine is capsule-based, which adds to its unique engineering, according to Collect Space. In addition, the device will also be the first coffee machine designed to be used outer space in an orbit, according to The Register.
Although "ISSpresso" will be the first brewed coffee in space, it is not the first beverage dispenser designed for astronauts. In the mid-1990s, the Coca-Cola Company was on board two space shuttle flights to bring carbonated soft drinks.
To drink beverages in outer space, astronauts add recycled waste water to foil pouches. They drink from a clamped straw to prevent the liquid from becoming airborne.
The beverages currently flown to the ISS residents include fruit drinks, tea, and instant coffee. Once they go brewed, they will never go back.
