By observing the new behaviours that arise in microgravity, which affect not only human beings but also natural elements and objects of use, it is possible to create innovation by using technology to give life to a poetic gesture.

Space Lotus offers a sensory adventure in food preparation and tasting in Space, using the metaphor of a flower. A technologically advanced edible packaging, once heated, rises into the air and opens its petals revealing a portion of food. The act of observing the “blooming” of this floating fragment, and the simple gesture of picking it up to savour it, transforms the meal into a spatio-temporal parenthesis of poetry capable of elevating eating to a magical moment that distracts from everyday reality.

The inspiration comes from the lotus in the ponds and the lanterns swaying on the rivers. Just as flowers on Earth float on water, in Space they float in the air. The design also holds a symbolic and auspicious meaning, linked to river lanterns: in ancient China, families would send lanterns up rivers to pray and ensure the return of soldiers in battle. Space Lotus is a disruptive example of a new path of Space Design that hybridises technology and poetry. Edible packaging and the simple heating that triggers the movement of petals, exploiting microgravity as a creative opportunity, can generate beauty and recall the ancient gesture of plucking a flower for nourishment.