For many people, the day does not actually start even the first sip of coffee. But what happens when you are turning 400 km above the earth, where gravity refuses to play together? NASA’s astronaut Don Petit found himself craving for the rich aroma of his morning decoction on the International Space Station (ISS) and decided to take matters into his hands. Unlike the Earth, where a steaming cup coffee can be added leisurely, astronauts rely on seal pouch and straws to prevent fluids from swimming in microgravity. But for Petit, it was just not quite good. He wanted a complete coffee experience – feeling smell, taste and relaxing of a real sip.
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When he designed the capillary cup, a particularly engineer vessel that suggests weightlessness, allows astronauts to drink coffee at home, according to the Rochastor Institute of Technology. In a now-viral video on X (East), the petit can be seen taking a sip and tasting the moment from his floating white cup. He said, “Being a sip o’that in the morning, nothing beats the zero-G cup for the morning coffee,” he captioned the post.
Watch the video here:
A sip o’in the morning; Nothing beats zero-G cup for coffee in the morning. pic.twitter.com/kom2v4lhsf
– Don Petit (@Astro_Pettit) 27 March, 2025
Coffee lovers understand that the taste is not only about the taste, it is an experience that attachs all the senses, in which the smell plays a major role. Petit echoed the feeling, telling a user how traditional space coffee, consumed with a bag, failed to give full sensory pleasure.
“Zero-G Cup allows one to sniff your coffee, something that you cannot veil through a straw from a straw, the smell is probably 70% of the joy of coffee,” he wrote in another post.
The zero-G cup allows one to smell your coffee, something that you cannot do when sips through a straw from a bag; Smell probably is 70% of coffee happiness
– Don Petit (@Astro_Pettit) 27 March, 2025
Petit responded to a user, who commented that people were usually advised not to play with their food. Petit said that the rule did not apply in space.
“In space, you can play with your food and call it science,” the humorous answer of Petit was
In space, you can play with your food and call it science
– Don Petit (@Astro_Pettit) 27 March, 2025
And who can argue? His innovation is not only making space coffee more enjoyable, but also contributing to better understanding of fluid dynamics in microgravity. While the invention of Petit can revolutionize the way of drinking coffee to astronauts, recently there has been a shock. On 22 March, he revealed that the Espresso machine of the ISS was sent back to the Earth, leaving the astronauts only with immediate coffee.
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