Arthur C. Clarke once said “The dinosaurs became extinct because they didn’t have a space program.” I have created a Need Coffee Pinterest board entitled “The Reason the Dinosaurs Went Extinct is They Had No Coffee.” And now those two things have finally come together–and I think mankind can, collectively, make the next step.
Now, you may say that we’ve had coffee in space. And that’s true. But just like astronaut ice cream is anything but ice cream, coffee in space is coffee, Jim, but not as we know it. But decent coffee drinks are in sight as an honest-to-God espresso machine has reached the International Space Station, thanks to Italian companies Lavazza and Argotec.
[ad#horiz-ad]The tweet making the rounds is astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti doing a Star Trek-infused selfie while the espresso machine is in transit to the ISS out the window behind her.
But again, the part that I find fascinating is the espresso machine, not the fact that Kate Mulgrew has got be pretty chuffed right about now. In fact, I tried to find a video of the machine in action…and came up short. (If you find one, let me know.) I did, however, find a Huffington Post article about how the thing works…as well as this video, where two astronauts discuss the trials of making such a machine. One of those astronauts, as you will learn, is Don Pettit, who invented the zero-gravity coffee cup. He is, obviously, a hero.
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So the cause of coffee in space marches on. With this hurdle out of the way, it’s only a matter of time before the space program kicks off full force once more. Either that, or Starbucks will just be absolutely dying to open a location near the Sea of Tranquility.
As much as I want to, I probably am not be able to stand Space: 1999 again, possibly only at 2:30a.m. and the espresso is pouring from a particularly good bean.
Liquid Gold in Space!