Students Improve Astronauts' Coffee

May-01-13 Thanks to a team of freshman students at Rice University, astronauts may soon be able to enjoy a better cup of coffee from their perch in space.

Currently, astronauts drink their coffee from pre-mixed packages that have only four ratio choices for the mix of coffee, cream and sugar in their cup of java. The new system allows the astronauts to customize their coffee, and works with the current black coffee packages already in use. The cream and sugar are contained in two-ply, heat-sealed pouches provided by NASA, and a roller system equipped with an adapter is used to squeeze the desired amount of cream or sugar into the coffee pouch without leaking. The roller was created on a 3D printer, and was inspired by the devices used to squeeze the last bit of toothpaste from a tube.

More Info about this Invention:

[GIZMAG.COM]
[RICE UNIVERSITY]

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