![ISS-43 new ISSpresso machine](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/ISS-43_new_ISSpresso_machine.jpg)
ISSpresso is the first
espresso
Espresso (, ) is a coffee-brewing method of Italian origin, in which a small amount of nearly boiling water (about ) is forced under of pressure through finely-ground coffee beans. Espresso can be made with a wide variety of coffee beans and ...
coffee machine
A coffeemaker, coffee maker or coffee machine is a cooking appliance used to brew coffee. While there are many different types of coffeemakers the two most common brewing principles use gravity or pressure to move hot water through coffee gr ...
designed for use in space, produced for the
International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...
by
Argotec
Argotec is an aerospace engineering company based in Turin whose research, innovation and product development activities use engineering and computing for space applications and renewable energy systems. Particular attention is also given to the ...
and
Lavazza
Luigi Lavazza S.p.A. (), shortened and stylized as LAVAZZA, is an Italian manufacturer of coffee products. Founded in Turin in 1895 by Luigi Lavazza, it was initially run from a small grocery store at Via San Tommaso 10. The business (Italian: ...
in a public-private partnership with the
Italian Space Agency
The Italian Space Agency ( it, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana; ASI) is a government agency established in 1988 to fund, regulate and coordinate space exploration activities in Italy. The agency cooperates with numerous national and international entit ...
(ASI). The first espresso coffee was drunk in space by astronaut
Samantha Cristoforetti
Samantha Cristoforetti, OMRI (; born in Milan on 26 April 1977) is an Italian European Space Agency astronaut, former Italian Air Force pilot and engineer. She holds the record for the longest uninterrupted spaceflight by a European astronaut ( ...
on 3 May 2015.
ISSpresso is one of nine experiments selected by the Italian Space Agency for the Futura mission.
History
In 2014, Argotec and Lavazza partnered to determine the feasibility of the project. Argotec then approached ASI, with Lavazza as a partner, and ASI agreed to sponsor the ISSpresso as an ASI payload on the ISS.
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
approval was then obtained. During the same year a feasibility study with the creation of some subsystems was conducted in order to validate the technological choices. On 14 April 2015, the flight model of ISSpresso was sent with
SpaceX CRS-6
SpaceX CRS-6, also known as SpX-6, was a Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International Space Station, contracted to NASA. It was the eighth flight for SpaceX's uncrewed Dragon cargo spacecraft and the sixth SpaceX operational missi ...
to the International Space Station and on 3 May 2015,
Samantha Cristoforetti
Samantha Cristoforetti, OMRI (; born in Milan on 26 April 1977) is an Italian European Space Agency astronaut, former Italian Air Force pilot and engineer. She holds the record for the longest uninterrupted spaceflight by a European astronaut ( ...
drank the first espresso in micro-gravity conditions. On 30 September 2017,
Paolo Nespoli
Major Paolo Angelo Nespoli (born 6 April 1957) is an Italian astronaut and engineer of the European Space Agency (ESA). In 2007, he first traveled into space aboard the Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' as a mission specialist of STS-120. In December ...
used the espresso machine on board the ISS to celebrate
International Coffee Day.
The ISSpresso's "Coffee in Space" mission came to an end on 14 December 2017.
Objectives
![ISS-43 Space Station Espresso Cup](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/ISS-43_Space_Station_Espresso_Cup.jpg)
ISSpresso is designed to prepare espresso. Prior to this experiment only soluble coffee was available in space. The astronauts can select the drink of interest between the following options:
short black
Espresso (, ) is a coffee-brewing method of Italian origin, in which a small amount of nearly boiling water (about ) is forced under of pressure through finely-ground coffee beans. Espresso can be made with a wide variety of coffee beans and ...
(30 ml),
long black
A long black is a style of coffee commonly found in Australia and New Zealand. It is similar to an Americano, but with a stronger aroma and taste.
A long black is made by pouring a double-shot of espresso or ristretto over hot water. Typically ...
(60 ml), and hot drink (tea or broth, 120 ml). It also has a flush cycle (60 ml) to clean the hydraulic circuit at the end of supply. The possibility of delivering broth allows for the rehydration of
space food
Space food is a type of food product created and processed for consumption by astronauts during missions to outer space. The food has specific requirements of providing balanced nutrition for individuals working in space while being easy and sa ...
.
ISSpresso also offers the opportunity to study some physical phenomena related to the fluid dynamics in
microgravity
The term micro-g environment (also μg, often referred to by the term microgravity) is more or less synonymous with the terms ''weightlessness'' and ''zero-g'', but emphasising that g-forces are never exactly zero—just very small (on the I ...
of (pure and mixed) liquids at high pressure and temperature. The analysis of the foam formation with respect to that of the terrestrial coffee was of particular interest, starting from the design of the system in order to obtain it in microgravity.
There are a number of aspects to espresso brewing and consumption that are related to or affected by gravity. One of the challenges was trying to produce the beverage in micro-gravity environment.
Differences in respect to a commercial espresso maker
The first noticeable difference concerns the size and weight: and nearly .
ISSpresso is heavier and more complex primarily because of the materials choice and the introduced redundancies to meet the safety requirements in all phases of the mission.
The ducts of the hydraulic circuit are made from steel, not plastic, to support operational loads up to .
The brewer has been designed to minimize the amount of water remaining after the infusion. Furthermore, it hosts a set of microswitches that prevent the leakage of hot water under high pressure in case of unsuccessful or improper closure of the brewer itself.
The system to remove the used capsule in microgravity works via means of an aluminum piston
that is activated by the astronaut, who drives the capsule into a disposal pouch. This is installed in the proximity of the brewer. The liquid taken from the water container is almost entirely used during the preparation. The resulting mixture is collected in a drink pouch. Contrary to the terrestrial machines, it is not necessary to have a collection tank considering that there is very limited waste water.
Operation
![ISS-43 Samantha Cristoforetti waits next to the ISSpresso machine](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/ISS-43_Samantha_Cristoforetti_waits_next_to_the_ISSpresso_machine.jpg)
The machine has conditions of use that are similar to the traditional ones, in order to facilitate the operations of the astronauts without requiring specific training. After verifying that the water container is installed properly, the astronaut inserts the coffee capsule into an opening on the top surface of the machine, then they close the small door and select the drink size. After that, they attach the drink pouch to the adapter and start the process of making coffee. The interfaces of the water container as well as of the drink pouch are the same used with the potable water dispenser installed on the space station, in order to facilitate the use of the system by the astronaut.
Design and qualification
Through the safety process, NASA verified that the hardware would meet the necessary requirements and it has certified the system for the flight on the ISS.
The external and internal structure of the machine was designed and tested to support the loads transmitted by the launch of the SpaceX CRS-6 spacecraft.
Prototypes and models
ISSpresso has been designed, built and tested by Argotec in four main models over 18 months.
*The ''first model'', called 2-D,
represents a prototype of the hydraulic and pneumatic systems. A pump and a commercial brewer were used.
*The ''second model'', known as the Elegance Model,
was developed to test the mechanical functions of the machine: many of the mechanical components correspond with those used for the flight unit.
*The ''third model'', the so-called Ground Model,
is the "Earth model". It is almost functionally identical to the flight model. A campaign of extensive testing to obtain the launch qualification was carried out on this model.
*The ''Protoflight model'',
i.e. flight model, is the final version that incorporates all the best technical solutions implemented in the previous models. The flight model has been subjected to the processes of qualification and has been certified by NASA for use aboard the International Space Station.
References
External links
ISSpressoat Lavazza.com
ISSpressoat Argotec.it
International Space Station experiments
Espresso machines
Single-serving coffee makers
2015 in science
Lavazza
Italian inventions
{{Coffee in Italy