Astronaut Don Pettit designed this Earth-friendly version of his Zero G Coffee Cup at his home in Houston, TX. This is a regular sized iteration of the cup. He first designed and fabricated an iteration from a piece of thin film and kapton tape during the STS-126 mission while it was docked with the International Space Station in November 2008. Pettit used his understanding of surface tension and capillary flow in space to force liquid to flow down the narrow channel on one side towards the opening of the "cup." Along with engineers on Earth, that first version was redesigned into a 3D printed version that flew to space on a later mission in 2012. Versions of those cups have been used in space since that time, and Pettit made this porcelain version at his home kiln.

Dr. Don Pettit donated this cup to the Museum in 2023.

 Display Status

This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.
Object Details
Country of Origin United States of America Type PERSONAL EQUIPMENT-Food & Food Accessories Manufacturer Dr. Donald Pettit
 Dimensions 3-D: 9.2 × 6.3 × 7.6cm (3 5/8 × 2 1/2 × 3 in.)
 Materials Porcelain, paint, glaze
 Inventory Number A20231166000 Credit Line Gift of Don Pettit Data Source National Air and Space Museum Restrictions & Rights Usage conditions apply
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