Penny pinching Russian NASA forced to put coffee adverts on side of rockets
Russia’s state sponsored space agency has made the bold move of selling advertisement space on the side of their rockets in a desperate attempt to raise much needed funds
Several companies have made millions to sponsor the Russian rockets(Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)
Penny pinching cosmonauts will be forced to fly to space on rockets sponsored by a popular coffee shop chain, as Russia’s version of NASA looks to raise funds amid a rapid decline in revenue.
Russia’s state sponsored space agency Roscosmos is reportedly struggling to make ends meet, with foreign partners pulling funds following Putin’s invasion of the Ukraine.
And in a desperate measure to make ends meet, Roscomos finance bosses have made the bold decision to turn their rockets and shuttles into flying billboards, with Russian companies reportedly forking out millions to feature on the side of spacecraft, according to the Russian newspaper Vedomosti.
Banks, radio stations and even a popular coffee shop chain are amongst the sponsors reported to have paid a total of 191 million Rubles (£2 million) for the unique advertisement opportunity, with the controversial Russian Olympic committee also amongst the sponsors.
Advertising on Russian space infrastructure facilities is predicted to generate around £50,000, according to the same report.
For context, a single rocket launch can cost as much as £4 billion, meaning the new revenue will likely not move the needle when it comes to funding Russian space missions.
The Russian café chain Coffee Mania are also providing freeze dried beverages to the cosmonauts while up in space, as well as branding the shuttle they will be flying in.
In a statement, the popular chain explained that the space-friendly drinks took “almost a year” to develop.
They said: “The first batch of freeze-dried drinks will be sent to the ISS in space packaging: Ethiopian Arbegona filter coffee and rosehip. It took almost a year to achieve the exact same taste as the drinks served to guests of Coffee Mania.”
Coffee Mania has also produced a cake in honour of the sponsorship, which according to Chief Pastry Chef Elena Zheleznyakova is “the embodiment of space aesthetics”, and is made from a combination of chocolate sponge cake, black currant, raspberry, and ice cream mousse.
The press release from Coffee Mania does not go into any more detail as to exactly what this cake has to do with space.
These new measures come as Russia looks to rival NASAs plans and build a permanent base on the moon.
Russian cosmonauts have been collaborating with the China National Space Agency (CNSA) on the construction of the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), which they hope will be fully built by the year 2036.
The base is expected to feature habitats, surface infrastructure, power grids, and observatories designed to support both robotic and human lunar missions.
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