Masterchef Mars: ‘astronauts’ cook in a Hawaiian lava field

There seems to be a cookbook to cater to every lifestyle choice these days, so why not one for astronauts? Six scientists will undertake a simulated Mars mission in Hawaii to test new forms of food and food preparation strategies for deep-space travel - and a research team observing them will compile recipes and cooking tips from the mission.

This mission - called HI-SEAS: Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation - is part of a NASA study to find the best way to feed astronauts during multiple-year missions to Mars or the moon.

The team will participate in the four-month simulation mission in early 2013, during which time they will live in isolation on a barren lava field in Hawaii. They will live and work like astronauts, right down to donning space suits whenever they’re outside the specially built simulated Martian base.

According to Jean Hunter, Associate Professor of Biological and Environmental Engineering at Cornell University, the biggest challenges the ‘astronauts’ will face is menu fatigue: over time, they will tire of eating foods they normally enjoy and will tend to eat less. This can put them at risk of nutritional deficiency, bone and muscle mass loss, and reduced physical capabilities.

The HI-SEAS mission is testing whether nutrition, food intake and food satisfaction will be improved if crews cook for themselves.

The research team - a joint effort of Cornell and the University of Hawaii at Manoa - will compare the palatability of available instant foods and crew-prepared food and chart whether food preferences change over time. They will also compare the time, power and water required for meal preparation and clean-up of instant and crew-prepared foods.

And, of course, they’ll be compiling recipes and cooking tips from the mission. Devilled space food sticks, anyone?

For more information about the project, click here.