(31 July 2017) Italian coffee flies into space and becomes the protagonist of the VITA (Vitality, Innovation, Technology, Ability) mission that brought Paolo Nespoli and his teammates aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The astronauts were welcomed with a 100% Italian product: the innovative ISSpresso capsule machine, installed in Node 1 of the Space Station realised by Argotec and Lavazza - in a public-private partnership with the Italian Space Agency (ASI) - that on 3 May, 2015, during the 'Futura' mission, permitted Samantha Cristoforetti to drink the first espresso coffee in microgravity. The partnership with the ASI, which co-ordinated the experiment, made it possible to transport it to the International Space Station, and subsequently through a negotiation with NASA, the Agency managed to keep the ISSpresso permanently in orbit. A passing of the torch between the astronauts of the European Space Agency, AstroSamantha and Paolo Nespoli to the third flight among the stars, which over the last few months has been able to learn and further explore all the secrets of the ISSpresso machine, from technical to more practical applications in the Argotec research and development laboratories in Turin. (Red)

INNOVATION ON THE GO

"For the second time, the Made in Italy goes beyond the Earth's atmosphere thanks to the ambitious project carried out with Argotec and that is also the result of technology and creativity, makes us particularly proud" stated Marco Lavazza, Vice President Lavazza Group. "So our journey in innovation continues and being able to associate the Italian name of the new space mission 'VITA' with an equally internationally recognised Italian symbol, espresso, confirms the authenticity of our recipe: passion, quality and desire to continue to always be a step forward in innovation. The blend of A Modo Mio's capsules that will travel to space is in fact the same as you can enjoy at home. "