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Whisky to be aged in space for first time in university satellite project
STV News • • science
Key Points:
- In 2028, engineers from Scotland and Japan will send Scotch whisky and its base ingredients into orbit on a satellite for a five-year mission to study how whisky ages in space's extreme temperature fluctuations.
- The experiment, called "Space Puffin," aims to accelerate whisky maturation by exposing samples to rapid cycles of heat and cold as the satellite orbits Earth every 90 minutes, potentially creating bold and complex flavors.
- The whisky samples will be contained with small wood chips to simulate cask aging, and data on color and chemical composition will be transmitted back to Earth, although the cubesat will not be recovered after the mission.
- The project also seeks to explore how chemical and biological processes occur in microgravity, with potential applications for producing molecules for medications that are difficult to manufacture on Earth.
- Researchers hope to eventually scale up space whisky production to include full casks and return matured whisky to Earth, with the prospect of creating highly valuable space-aged Scotch.
