After spending four months in an encapsulated quarry on Hawaii's Mauna Loa volcano that simulated life on Mars, six scientists have emerged after spending time testing different methods of preparing food while in space.
The Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation, or HI-SEAS, is a NASA-funded study led by Cornell University and the University of Hawaii at Manoa. The purpose of the experiment was to assess what humans can eat if they were to plant a colony on Mars.
The researchers emerged on Tuesday onto a lava field about 8,000 feet (2,440 meters) above sea level on the northern slope of Mauna Loa.
"It's a moment I'm going to remember for the rest of my life," said Oleg Abramov, a research space scientist at the US Geological Survey Astrogeology branch in Flagstaff, Arizona. "Walking out ... experiencing the sunshine and wind on our faces."
"We have landed. #hiseas Mission 1 is officially over," mission commander Angelo Vermeulen (@angelovermeulen) tweeted Tuesday.
During the 118-day mission, Vermeulen and his colleagues ate a variety of instant foods and also cooked for themselves using shelf-stable ingredients. They rated all of their meals and kept detailed records of their moods, body mass and health status.
The researchers analyzed "mission conditions" such as confinement and isolation affected participants' affinity for different foods and to investigate the possibility of any changes in "food intake, food liking and mood" under these conditions, according to the project's site.
It will take several months to process all the data gathered. The findings are set to be presented at the International Astronautical Congress later this year in Beijing.
