Scottish and Japanese team to study whisky ageing in orbit
Scottish and Japanese engineers plan to send whisky samples into orbit in 2028 to study how the space environment affects ageing. The experiment could reveal whether rapid temperature changes produce distinctive flavours, while also testing methods that may help manufacture medicines in orbit.
The project, nicknamed “Space Puffin”, is expected to travel to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX supply mission before being deployed in a small satellite. Over five years, the team will monitor the samples’ colour and chemical composition as temperatures range from about minus 150 to 200 degrees Celsius. The satellite will not return to Earth, and participating distilleries have not yet been selected.
- Whisky samples are planned for a five-year orbital experiment.
- Researchers will track changes in colour and chemistry.
- The findings could inform medicine production in space.
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Whisky's flavour and quality develop during years of ageing in wooden casks, making the process crucial to the Scotch whisky industry. Scientists have wondered whether rapid temperature changes might produce distinctive flavours or speed up chemical reactions in ways that cannot be replicated on Earth.
Scottish and Japanese engineers now plan to test this by sending whisky samples into orbit. They will place the samples aboard the International Space Station before transferring them to a small satellite, where extreme temperature fluctuations will be monitored over five years to track changes in the whisky's colour and chemical composition.
The experiment has implications beyond whisky enthusiasts. Understanding how space conditions affect chemical processes could help researchers develop improved methods for manufacturing medicines and other products in orbit, where the unique environment might offer advantages that are impossible to replicate on Earth.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Distilled in space – the water of life to be given an extraterrestrial flavour”.