Incredible video shows how NASA astronauts enjoy a cup of coffee while floating in space
Exploring space might be a stressful job, and astronauts are entitled to their coffee breaks amidst experiments. However, consuming liquids in space is not an easy task, and gravity does not help much. Instead of using plastic bags, astronauts now have a unique container to rely on for a shot of espresso: a zero-gravity coffee cup. An exciting video by NASA on the internet captured the attention of space enthusiasts as it showed the workings of this new invention. The cup held coffee in its place onboard the International Space Station and helped experience the pleasure of drinking from a mug.
The Zero-Gravity Cup, or the Space Cup, looks like a giant nose with a handle, as its design is entirely a product of physics calculations. "We actually don't have too much input to that shape," Mark Weislogel, a senior scientist at Oregon-based technology company IRPI and a professor of mechanical engineering at Portland State University in Oregon, was quoted as saying by The World. "There's no up, no down, so we're using the properties of the shape. So, hey, we're stuck with it," he added. It was created by astronaut Don Pettit, who served on the ISS and wanted the comfort of a mug.
Weislogel, who helped Pettit develop the cup, highlighted its key features. The instrument uses capillary flow, which is the ability of a liquid to flow in narrow spaces without gravity or against it. The shape of the cup was specially designed to control the surface tension of the beverage, according to The World. If the cup is tipped, the shape and the surface tension of the liquid allow it to flow to the person’s mouth, even in the microgravity of space. This is the mechanism that allows astronauts to discard plastic bags and drink their coffee in a more normal way.
The cup was initially invented onboard the International Space Station in 2008 with materials available at hand. This became the first patent ever given for something invented in space. The next generation of this cup was created on Earth and delivered to the ISS through a cargo capsule. A video on YouTube titled “How Do Astronauts Drink Coffee in Space?” shows how astronauts use the cup to drink coffee. “You'll get the sensation like you're drinking on Earth, but it's still going to be a different process,” Weislogel added about the cup.
Don Petti shared, "It's got some nondescript NASA acronym, but I just like to call it 'The Galley.’ You can inject either room-temperature water or warm water into your bag, you can also inject it straight into one of these cups. Then the espresso machine has a mechanism that can inject it also, straight into one of these cups," Pettit explained.
As drinking blobs of liquid is strange and dangerous in the environment of the International Space Station, this is a useful tool. Using a cup in space leaves the liquid unmoved or sends out the tiny globes of liquid into thin air. "The cup simply elicits happy eruptions of laughter because the astronauts readily confess they hadn't expected it to work," stated the representatives at the American Physical Society's Division of Fluid Dynamics. Now, amidst floating and backflips, astronauts get to carry a cup of coffee to keep up their spirits for long nights in space.
