
ISSpresso was the first
espresso
Espresso (, ) is a concentrated form of coffee produced by forcing hot water under high pressure through finely ground coffee beans. Originating in Italy, espresso has become one of the most popular coffee-brewing methods worldwide. It is cha ...
coffee machine
A coffeemaker, coffee maker or coffee machine is a cooking appliance used to brew coffee. While there are many different types of coffeemakers, the two most common brewing principles use gravity or pressure to move hot water through coffee ...
designed for use in space, produced for the
International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...
by
Argotec
Argotec is an Italian aerospace engineering company, founded in 2008 in Turin, Italy by David Avino, with offices in Maryland and Florida, USA and operations at EAC in Cologne, Germany. The company is engaged in the production of small satellites ...
and
Lavazza
Luigi Lavazza S.p.A. (), shortened and stylized as LAVAZZA, is an Italian manufacturer of coffee products. Founded in Turin in 1895 by Luigi Lavazza, it was initially run from a small grocery store at Via San Tommaso 10. The business (Italian: ...
in a public-private partnership with the
Italian Space Agency
The Italian Space Agency (; ASI) is a government agency established in 1988 to fund, regulate and coordinate space exploration activities in Italy. The agency cooperates with numerous national and international entities who are active in aerospac ...
(ASI). ISSpresso was one of nine experiments selected by the Italian Space Agency for the Futura mission.
It was installed on the space station between 2015 and 2017, when it was returned to Earth.
History
In 2014, Argotec and Lavazza partnered to determine the feasibility of the project. Argotec then approached ASI, with Lavazza as a partner, and ASI agreed to sponsor the ISSpresso as an ASI payload on the ISS.
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
approval was then obtained. During the same year a feasibility study with the creation of some subsystems was conducted in order to validate the technological choices.
On 14 April 2015, the flight model of ISSpresso was sent to the International Space Station on
SpaceX CRS-6 and on 3 May 2015,
Samantha Cristoforetti
Samantha Cristoforetti (; born 26 April 1977) is an Italian European Astronaut Corps, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut, former Italian Air Force pilot and engineer. She is the second of two Women in space, women sent into space by ESA and ...
drank the first espresso in micro-gravity conditions.
On 30 September 2017,
Paolo Nespoli used the espresso machine on board the ISS to celebrate
International Coffee Day
International Coffee Day (1 October) is an occasion that is used to promote and celebrate coffee as a beverage, with events now occurring in places around the world. The first official date was 3 October 2015, as agreed by then International C ...
.
ISSpresso's mission came to an end on 14 December 2017,
and the machine was returned to Earth by the
SpaceX CRS-13
SpaceX CRS-13, also known as SpX-13, was a Commercial Resupply Services, Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International Space Station launched on 15 December 2017. The mission was contracted by NASA and is flown by SpaceX. It was the s ...
mission.
Objectives

ISSpresso was designed to prepare espresso. Prior to this experiment, only soluble coffee was available in space. The astronauts could select from the following options:
short black
Espresso (, ) is a concentrated form of coffee produced by forcing hot water under high pressure through finely ground coffee beans. Originating in Italy, espresso has become one of the most popular coffee-brewing methods worldwide. It is cha ...
(30 ml),
long black
A long black is a style of coffee commonly found in Australia and New Zealand, made by pouring a double shot of espresso into hot water. It is similar to an americano, in which hot water is poured into one shot of espresso.
Typically about 10 ...
(60 ml), and hot drink (tea or broth, 120 ml). The machine also featured a flush cycle (60 ml) to clean the hydraulic circuit at the end of supply. The possibility of delivering hot water allowed for the rehydration of
space food
Space food is a type of food product created and processed for consumption by astronauts during missions to outer space. Such food has specific requirements to provide a balanced diet and adequate nutrition for individuals working in space w ...
.
ISSpresso also offered the opportunity to study physical phenomena related to the fluid dynamics in
microgravity
Weightlessness is the complete or near-complete absence of the sensation of weight, i.e., zero apparent weight. It is also termed zero g-force, or zero-g (named after the g-force) or, incorrectly, zero gravity.
Weight is a measurement of the fo ...
of (pure and mixed) liquids at high pressure and temperature. The analysis of the foam formation with respect to that of the terrestrial coffee was of particular interest, starting from the design of the system in order to obtain it in microgravity.
A number of aspects of espresso brewing and consumption are related to or affected by gravity. One of the challenges was trying to produce the beverage in micro-gravity environment.
Differences in respect to a commercial espresso maker
The first noticeable difference concerns the size and weight: and nearly .
ISSpresso is heavier and more complex primarily because of the materials choice and the introduced redundancies to meet the safety requirements in all phases of the mission.
The ducts of the hydraulic circuit are made from steel, not plastic, to support operational loads up to .
The brewer has been designed to minimize the amount of water remaining after the infusion. Furthermore, it hosts a set of microswitches that prevent the leakage of hot water under high pressure in case of unsuccessful or improper closure of the brewer itself.
The system to remove the used capsule in microgravity works via means of an aluminum piston
that is activated by the astronaut, who drives the capsule into a disposal pouch. This is installed in the proximity of the brewer. The liquid taken from the water container is almost entirely used during the preparation. The resulting mixture is collected in a drink pouch. Contrary to the terrestrial machines, it is not necessary to have a collection tank considering that there is very limited waste water.
Operation

The machine has conditions of use that are similar to the traditional ones, in order to facilitate the operations of the astronauts without requiring specific training. After verifying that the water container is installed properly, the astronaut inserts the coffee capsule into an opening on the top surface of the machine, then they close the small door and select the drink size. After that, they attach the drink pouch to the adapter and start the process of making coffee. The interfaces of the water container as well as of the drink pouch are the same used with the potable water dispenser installed on the space station, in order to facilitate the use of the system by the astronaut.
Design and qualification
Through the safety process, NASA verified that the hardware would meet the necessary requirements and it has certified the system for the flight on the ISS.
The external and internal structure of the machine was designed and tested to support the loads transmitted by the launch of the SpaceX CRS-6 spacecraft.
Prototypes and models
ISSpresso was designed, built and tested by Argotec. Over 18 months, four models were constructed:
*The ''first model'', called 2-D,
was a prototype of the hydraulic and pneumatic systems. A pump and a commercial brewer were used.
*The ''second model'', known as the Elegance Model,
was developed to test the mechanical functions of the machine: many of the mechanical components correspond with those used for the flight unit.
*The ''third model'', the so-called Ground Model,
is the "Earth model". It is almost functionally identical to the flight model. A campaign of extensive testing to obtain the launch qualification was carried out on this model.
*The ''Protoflight model'',
i.e. flight model, is the final version that incorporates all the best technical solutions implemented in the previous models. The flight model was subjected to the processes of qualification and certified by NASA for use aboard the International Space Station.
References
External links
ISSpressoat Lavazza.com
ISSpresso at Argotec.it
International Space Station experiments
Espresso machines
Single-serving coffee makers
2015 in science
Lavazza
Italian inventions
{{Coffee in Italy