The low gravity espresso cup
A Coffee Cup Designed to Let Astronauts Sip Espresso in Space.
Here on Earth, it’s easy to take things for granted. Drinking a cup of coffee, for example, is a shockingly simple act when you’re affected by gravity, yet it’s infinitely more difficult once you leave Earth’s atmosphere. In space you don’t sip, you suck, from a bag. That’s a good thing. The typical coffee cup simply doesn’t work in low gravity, unless you want scalding hot liquid floating through the air. It takes a special vessel to get liquid from an open container into an astronaut’s mouth. It also takes a helluva lot of science, as seen by the cup designed by Portland State University researchers. For the past year, scientists there have been developing a mug designed specifically to allow astronauts to sip on espresso (or other warm and frothy drinks) in low-gravity environments.