The commercial space race does not start in the United States. And not at the hands of Elon Musk of SpaceX, Bezos of Blue Origin, or Richard Branson’s Virgin. Not on board the rocket – although, too. The most capitalist conquest of space will come from something as frivolous and symbolic as champagne. In particular, Maison Mumm with Mumm Cordon Rouge Stellar, who already has a ticket to space with Axiom Space in 2023 and his next private space station.
Both companies have chosen the cradle of champagne to showcase their ingenuity, which is expressed in a bottle quite different from the one we are used to, which they could have access to. hypertext from the first person. Paris, protected by an astronomical observatory with more than 350 years of history, was chosen as the site for such an encounter in the eyes of Saturn at its height – at the same time that James Webb took the best image of our neighboring planet.
The goal was to try a drink that, in a place where gravity is conspicuous by its absence, all problems. Not just for the drink itself anymore. The bottle, which had to maintain the pressure of champagne and taste different outside of our planet, was a technical problem that had to be solved. If humanity wants to thrive in space, these little details will take the first steps.
Mission: take champagne into space
It seems absurd, but it was a project that was in development for over five years. In 2017, when the decision to launch the project was made, both Axiom and Maison Mumm were working on getting their bottles into space. Because if, an ordinary bottle could not be taken with you on a homologated space flight. It was a way to continue the story of a historic company that set out to bring the first bottle to the Arctic during the first expeditions of the 19th century. Why not be the first to fly into space?
Thus, under the roof of the Paris Observatory, they had to work for years on the design of the Mumm Cordon Rouge Stellar bottle. Design by Octave de Gaulle of the SPADE agency. A company with a long history in create materials and objects that must travel into space. What is your mission? It passes the approval of the competent space agencies.
In short, Mumm Cordon Rouge Stellar will travel in a two-pot bottle. The first of these, visible, is an aluminum casing that protects the contents of the glass inside. One that can be seen through the window to the content. The interior is actually made of glass and stainless steel with the same composition as the vats that produce champagne. In this manner, the content pressure will remain the same during the trip. As is the taste. Why in the cellars of Mumm they prepared a specific mixture that would better withstand the impact of weightlessness on the taste.
Nonetheless, it’s in traffic where the magic is. Space rules forbade a bottle with a regular cork to fly into space. The plug can pop out at any time when the pressure changes. Thus, de Gaulle developed a cork system with a stainless steel safety ring that keeps the cork pressed against the neck of the bottle. This, in addition to greater safety, will allow the astronauts to reproduce the effect of the exit of liquid in a bubble format.
The problem of taste in space
Tastes change depending on where we try them. Thus, if we board an airplane, many foods will taste different. If we are traveling into space, where weightlessness is at work, the situation is much more complicated. This phenomenon has been studied for some time by astronauts of the International Space Station.
Mumm Cordon Rouge Stellar and Axiom Space must deal with this situation. The one for which scientists they still don’t have a solid explanation. On the table, the impact of travel and storage on products. Also the effect of the absence of gravity on the fluids of the human body. Microgravity would cause liquids to rise up into the nasal area and thus affect the perception of taste.
In the case of Mumma champagne, the behavior of a gaseous liquid in zero gravity is also added. Bubbles cannot rise to the surface, so no odor is released.
To address these issues, NASA scientists have been working for some time on cultures exposed to the conditions of the International Space Station and food preparations designed for such taste changes. At the moment, and although this is a minor problem of space exploration, they still do not find the key to this issue.
Axiom Space on track to build its champagne-washed space base
Axiom Space is one of the historical companies in the field of space exploration. While Musk is focused on going to Mars, Axiom wants to make a space station accessible to everyone. And he’s been working on it for a long time.
Since 2020, the American company has been working on adapting the paired modules to the International Space Station. Where they will remain until the international project becomes obsolete. At the moment, Axiom will be able to exist autonomously and gradually grow to accommodate space tourists.
Working on his own Station, Axiom is looking for new viable projects. In addition to helping NASA with manned missions, the technology company is also working on suits for the next manned mission, Artemis. The very ones that will be delivered to the Moon by the next astronauts who will land on the Earth’s satellite.
Spatial conquest yes, but also cultural and capitalist
There is a scientific question, but the fact that champagne flew into space is beyond any idea. Mumm, in his association with the Axiom, makes it clear that if we want to conquer the cosmos, we must do it through humanization. If it’s with a French product, it’s better for them. Other countries will choose other varieties.
“Research is something very important for a person, but culture and experience are very important,” they explained from Axiom. The fact of being able to celebrate something with a bottle of champagne for the association of companies, this is a milestone in human space exploration. The ultimate humanization of uncharted territory. Even more important than the flag.
Frivolous? Maybe this. But this is the greatest sign of a path that, in the eyes of an industry that knows itself strong, has begun to move. Whereas until a few years ago everything outside the Earth’s atmosphere was the responsibility of a select group of government agencies, now part of a private empire of big space technology. Some of them, in addition to changing the rules of the game, have added a commercial component to the space in all its splendor.
At least if for some reason we have to migrate into space, at least we can enjoy a little more. Champagne in this case is just another anecdote of what’s to come.
Source: Hiper Textual
