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意大利浓缩咖啡走向太空

Italian-style espresso coffee has devotees around the world, with a growing number of people abandoning a regular cup of coffee for the thicker brew¹. Now, Italian coffee machine makers³ are working to create a device that will be able to produce espresso in weightless conditions on the International Space Station.

随着越来越多的人告别普通咖啡转而投向浓咖啡的怀抱，意式浓缩咖啡的爱好者遍布了全世界。如今，意大利咖啡机制造商正在发明一种可以在国际空间站里的失重状态下制造浓缩咖啡的机器。

Many people cannot imagine life without coffee, and for most Italians, coffee means espresso, a thick brew prepared in a special coffee machine.

许多人很难想象没有咖啡的生活，而对大多数意大利人来说，咖啡（coffee）就意味着浓缩咖啡（espresso），一种由特殊的咖啡机煮出来的口感浓郁的咖啡。

So, when Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti headed for the International Space Station earlier this month, her compatriots worried how she would survive there for six months, drinking only instant coffee.

所以，当意大利宇航员萨曼莎?克里斯托弗雷蒂（Samantha Cristoforetti）本月早些时候出发前往国际空间站的时候，她的同胞们担心，在只能喝速溶咖啡的情况下，她怎么能坚持六个月。

"I believe that when working as an astronaut, a job in which you have to reason a lot, reflect, and be attentive⁴, espresso is definitely very important," said one Italian.

意大利都灵一家咖啡吧内的女士说：“我觉得当一名宇航员，需要做这么多的推理，还有及时反应，时刻保持注意力，浓缩咖啡绝对非常得重要。”

To help Cristoforetti and other espresso lovers in orbit, the famed Turin-based coffee maker² Lavazza and engineering firm Argotec, which specializes in making space food, joined forces to produce a coffee machine that would work at zero gravity.

为了帮助克里斯托弗雷蒂和太空站里的其他浓缩咖啡爱好者们，位于都灵的著名咖啡生产商乐维萨（Lavazza）和专门生产太空食品的工程公司亚果科技（Argotec）要联合打造一款可以在彻底失重状态下工作的咖啡机。

"We had to figure out how to make coffee on the station exactly like we make it on earth. The other difficulty was complying with safety measures in order to qualify the machine as 'On-Board software' on the International Space Station," said Alberto Cabilli, R&D manager for Lavazza.

乐维萨食品技术公司研发经理阿尔贝托?卡比利说：“我们需要搞清楚如何在空间站里像在地球上一样煮咖啡。另一个难题是要符合安全措施标准，让咖啡机达到国际空间站里‘站载软件’的要求。”

The machine, called ISSpresso, overcomes the absence of gravity by firing pressurized water through capsules of coffee. Cristoforetti took it with her for testing when she blasted off into orbit on November 23.

这台叫作ISSpresso（意为“国际空间站浓缩咖啡机”）的咖啡机能够将加压水从咖啡胶囊穿射过去，从而克服了失重问题。11月23日，克里斯托弗雷蒂带着它一起发射升空，进入轨道，她要对咖啡机进行测试。

"The concept of this machine was for an experiment, so we started as a technology demonstration⁵ experiment, but NASA was very much interested in getting this machine and keeping it on the station most likely for a long time, not just to make a few coffees. So this means that most likely, if everything goes well, after this technology demonstration the machine will be kept at the International Space Station and be available for all the astronauts rotating on the station," said David Avino, Argotec’s managing director.

亚果公司总裁戴维?阿维诺说： “这台机器本来是试验用的，所以我们一开始只是想做一次技术展示实验，但是美国宇航局很想要这台机器，还想把它在空间站里多留一段时间，而不是仅仅只煮几杯咖啡。所以如果一切顺利的话，在这次技术展示之后，这台咖啡机很有可能被留在国际空间站，供所有来空间站轮值的宇航员们使用。”

Italians consider themselves great connoisseurs⁶ of coffee, perhaps with good reason.

意大利人自视为伟大的咖啡鉴赏家，这或许有其道理。

"We are very proud, not only as Italians but also as residents of Turin - the first espresso machine was created in Turin in 1884, so about 130 years ago. And today in 2014, another two Turin-based realities - Lavazza and Argotec - developed a machine that will bring espresso - not only across the world, but even in space," said Marcello Arcangeli, the head of Lavazza’s training center network.

乐维萨培训网络负责人马赛罗?阿坎格里说：“我们感到很自豪，不仅仅因为我们是意大利人，还因为我们是都灵人。第一台浓缩咖啡机就在1884年产生于都灵，那大约是130年前。如今，在2014年，另外两家位于都灵的公司，乐维萨和亚果科技，又发明了一台咖啡机，不仅能将浓缩咖啡带往全世界，甚至能把它带往太空。”

Besides espresso, the ISSpresso machine is capable of preparing tea and clear soup.

除了浓缩咖啡，ISSpresso还能煮茶和清汤。