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WASHINGTON—Italian-style espresso coffee has devotees around the world, with a growing number of people abandoning a regular cup of coffee for the thicker brew. Now, Italian coffee machine makers are working to create a device that will be able to produce espresso in weightless conditions on the International Space Station.
Many people cannot imagine life without coffee, and for most Italians, coffee means espresso, a thick brew prepared in a special coffee machine.
So, when Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti headed for the International Space Station earlier this month, her compatriots worried how she would survive there for six months, drinking only instant coffee.
"I believe that when working as an astronaut, a job in which you have to reason a lot, reflect, and be attentive, espresso is definitely very important," said one Italian.
To help Cristoforetti and other espresso lovers in orbit, the famed Turin-based coffee maker Lavazza and engineering firm Argotec, which specializes in making space food, joined forces to produce a coffee machine that would work at zero gravity.
