Fancy an espresso brewed in space? Italian Astronaut Cristoforetti fires up first espresso machine
| Photo taken from Twitter


The first Italian woman in space is now the world's first orbiting barista.Over the weekend, astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti fired up the first espresso machine in space. She posted a photo of herself on Twitter from the International Space Station on Sunday, sipping from a cup designed for use in zero-gravity.For the special occasion, she put on her "Star Trek" uniform top."Coffee: the finest organic suspension ever devised," Cristoforetti said via Twitter, quoting from the old TV series, "Star Trek: Voyager. ""Fresh espresso in the new Zero-G cup! To boldly brew...," she added. Cristoforetti, who returns to Earth next week following a half-year mission, almost didn't get any space espresso. The experimental, Italian-made espresso maker, dubbed ISSpresso using the International Space Station initials, was supposed to arrive in January, but didn't get to orbit until April because of a shipment backlog.How did she like the space brew? She didn't say on Twitter, but she was all smiles for the cameras and gave a thumbs-up. It had to beat NASA's instant coffee, drunk by straw from a pouch. The espresso actually is brewed in a clear pouch, behind the closed door of the boxy coffee maker, and that's how Cristoforetti and NASA crewmate Scott Kelly first sampled it. Cristoforetti later switched to the small, pitcher-like zero-g cup, a new American-made item.Italytarget="_blank"'>