NASA's Space Cups help astronauts drink like they do on Earth
You won't need a straw to drink in microgravity.
Astronauts can't really enjoy beverages the way you do here on Earth. They have to drink from a pouch through a straw, which is about as glamorous as sipping from a juice box. NASA and IRPI are giving those spacefarers their dignity back, however. They're experimenting with Space Cups that, as the name implies, let astronauts drink as they would at home. The vessels use a mix of their unique geometry, surface tension and wetting to keep the liquids headed toward your mouth. As you'll see in the clips below, it's very hard to spill anything... at worst, you can shake loose a couple of globules that are easy to recapture.
The Space Cups are officially meant to examine the way fluids behave in microgravity. They may well lead to new, more reliable fluid systems for spacecraft. However, NASA is quick to admit that "casual consumption" of drinks is a nice side benefit. It won't be surprising if future space crews stop using pouches for coffee, tea and other beverages that you would normally drink from a cup -- it'd give them a much-needed reminder of home.
