Hey, Texas! Get out to Guadalupe Mountains National Park before you miss the fall colors. McKittrick Canyon is one of the best places in the state to enjoy autumn’s brilliance as the leaves shift from green to spectacular shades of yellow and orange. Under a gorgeous blue sky, breathing in the fresh air, you’ll never want your walk in the woods to end. Photo by M. Haynie, National Park Service.
On Earth, a double shot mocha latte with soymilk, low-fat whip and a caramel drizzle is just about as complicated as a cup of coffee gets. Aboard the International Space Station, however, even just a simple cup of black coffee presents obstacles for crew members.
Understanding how fluids behave in microgravity is crucial to bringing the joys of the coffee bean to the orbiting laboratory. Astronaut Don Pettit crafted a DIY space cup using a folded piece of overhead transparency film. Surface tension keeps the scalding liquid inside the cup, and the shape wicks the liquid up the sides of the device into the drinker’s mouth.
The Capillary Beverage investigation explored the process of drinking from specially designed containers that use fluid dynamics to mimic the effect of gravity. While fun, this study could provide information useful to engineers who design fuel tanks for commercial satellites!
The capillary beverage cup allows astronauts to drink much like they would on Earth. Rather than drinking from a shiny bag and straw, the cup allows the crew member to enjoy the aroma of the beverage they’re consuming.
On Earth, liquid is held in the cup by gravity. In microgravity, surface tension keeps the liquid stable in the container.
The ISSpresso machine brought the comforts of freshly-brewed coffees and teas to the space station. European astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti enjoyed the first cup of espresso brewed using the ISSpresso machine during Expedition 43.
Now, during Expedition 53, European astronaut Paolo Nespoli enjoys the same comforts.
Astronaut Kjell Lindgren celebrated National Coffee Day during Expedition 45 by brewing the first cup of hand brewed coffee in space.
We have a latte going on over on our Snapchat account, so give us a follow to stay up to date! Also be sure to follow @ISS_Research on Twitter for your daily dose of space station science.
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.
According to a Turkish proverb, coffee should be black as hell, strong as death and sweet as love.
It’s National Coffee Day, and to celebrate we took a dip into the NPR archives and found this great report tracing the history of the coffee break, courtesy of Special Correspondent Susan Stamberg.
Enjoy!
-Kate
Photo: iStockphoto
Since it’s National Coffee Day, we thought we’d share another!
Top Shot features the photo with the most votes from the previous day’s Daily Dozen, 12 photos selected by the Your Shot editors. The photo our community has voted as their favorite is showcased on the @natgeoyourshot Instagram account. Click here to vote for tomorrow’s Top Shot.
Your Shot photographer Aleš Krivec photographed this autumn scene at the Lower Fusine Lake in Italy, also known as Lacs de Fusine. Photograph by Aleš Krivec
DESIGN: The Coffee-Making Alarm Clock
We need this because reasons. This one’s for the coffee drinkers amongst you - British designer Joshua Renouf has come up with a coffee making alarm clock which can wake you up with a fresh cup of joe.
Good morning!
Ps. Please let this be real.
During the 1950s-1960s SSA published a series of comic books on Social Security-related topics, in an effort to reach the youth audience, which in those days used comic books as their hottest medium of communication.
This comic is from 1956.
If you’re wondering where you can find some comic books based on Social Security, well, we found it for you.
Welcome to the Reblog Book Club, the first official Tumblr book club!
For our first book, we’re reading Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, a coming-of-age story about fanfiction, family, and first love. If you’ve read Eleanor and Park, or you follow Rainbow on Tumblr, you have a good idea of why we’re so excited to talk about this book!
Neat idea!
