Listen to this article WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. â For astronauts to go on long missions to the moon or Mars, they'll need a refrigerator. But todayâs fridges arenât designed to work in zero gravity â or upside down if oriented that way when a spacecraft lands on another planet. A team of engineers from Purdue University, Air Squared Inc., and Whirlpool Corporation is working on building a fridge for zero gravity that operates in different orientations and just as well as the one in your kitchen, giving astronauts access to longer-lasting and more nutritious food. In May, the team will test their fridge design on Zero Gravity Corporationâs (ZERO-G) unique weightless research lab. The only testing space of its kind in the United States, the specially designed plane will fly in microgravity dozens of times â for 20-second intervals â during each of four flights. Data from these flights, which are supported by NASAâs Flight Opportunities program, will help the team determine if the design is ready to be used in space.