If the Russians can take caviar to space, then why would not the Italians take espresso? Putting espresso in space on the International Space Station (ISS) is exactly what female Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti set out to do, with the aid of coffee and space cuisine experts, of course.

In fact, Cristoforetti is not only the first to enjoy espresso in space, she is the first Italian female in space. Cristoforetti and companion cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov docked with the ISS earlier today after an uneventful six-hour flight aboard the Russian Soyuz TMA-15M craft that launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. Shkaplerov honored Russian tradition by bringing along 15 boxes of caviar.

According to NASA, “A new vehicle has arrived. The Soyuz is confirmed as attached properly, high above the Pacific Ocean.”

Cristoforetti and Shkaplerov join American astronaut Terry Virts aboard the ISS, and the three are scheduled to remain there until May 2015. In addition to the 15 30-gram boxes of caviar, the astronauts have apples, oranges, tomatoes, and 140 servings of dried milk and unsweetened black tea, according to the Russian news agency TASS, quoting a space station official.

The specially modified espresso machine that Cristoforetti brought along with her was provided by the well-known Italian coffee maker Lavazza, in collaboration with Argotec, a space food engineering firm.

The 37-year-old Cristoforetti, who is a captain in the Italian air force, “will be not only the first female astronaut from Italy to go into space, but also the very first astronaut in the history of the conquest of space to savour an authentic Italian espresso in orbit,” the two companies said.