Astronauts living in space have demonstrated many different and strange ways of eating and drinking fluids many times in the past. Now, however, NASA seems to have figured out how to have a more earth-like coffee experience with the futuristic Space Cup it recently unveiled.
According to NASA, these Space Cups are specially designed that uses fluid dynamics concepts to mimic the effects of gravity in space. The demo video shows astronaut Nicole Mann pouring coffee from a purse into the Space Cup. Afterwards, it is seen that the liquid does not spill out of the mug even when he turns the mug upside down.
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The demonstration is part of NASA’s Capillary Flow Experiment, and the agency has been working on futuristic space technology for over a decade. The patent for this technology, obtained in 2011, is shared between astronaut Don Pettit and mathematicians Paul Concus and Robert Finns.
Rather than relying on gravity, the agency says the specially designed cup “uses the combined effects of surface tension, wetting, and vessel geometry,” allowing astronauts to drink the liquid with ease. All astronauts have to do to drink the liquid is to rest their mouths on the narrow top of the Space Cup, and then the drink is automatically drawn into their mouths due to capillary action.
Some common examples of antigravity capillary action include how water moves upward along the tissue paper when placed on a water surface, or how water travels from roots to leaves in plants. NASA hopes these Capillary Beverage studies will make it easier to drink in microgravity, as well as reduce the weight and size of bags of liquid sent into space.
While an important part of the experiment is to monitor the experience of drinking liquids such as water, juice, tea, coffee, and cocoa in space, NASA believes the Space Cup design may also have potential applications in the field of medical research and drug delivery on Earth.
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