Mauna Loa Volcano: Mars Diet Analysis

On the northern slope of Hawaii's Mauna Loa Volcano, six scientists have been living as though they are inhabiting Mars. The reason; to see if the diet they are on will be enough for a real astronaut to survive on. For four months, Hawaii Space Exploration Analogue and Simulations (HI-SEAS) participants have been studying how their food supply has effected their energy, weight and of course, their appetites. The mock-astronaut's new diet has resulted in minor weight loss for every member. This, of course, could be from the frequent exercise that the scientists did not partake in while at home. While none of the meal options have had a significant impact on the scientist's stamina, certain foods are very much preferred over others. Instant

The crew members must be intelligent and easy to get along with, the spacesuits and all tools used must be state of the art and on top of all of that, the food must be tasty enough to live off of for months on end. While four months is a long time, it would be interesting to see how the HI-SEAS participant's diet could effect someone after an extended period of time. Incidentally, now that the crew has narrowed down what is worth eating, a modified diet will most likely be tested in the near future and will have a much longer time span. The crew very adamantly stated that meats were not a favorite menu item. It will be interesting to see what foods are supplies in place of all these meat. How else, one might wonder, will the astronauts get the essential nutrition and protein that that particular food group provides? Will the future explorers of the Red Planet live off of peanut butter and protein supplements? Will scientists work on making an advancement in the field of space food in order to make the meat taste better? Or will the crew have to endure many, many unsatisfying meals of Kung Fu Chicken and tasteless beef? Perhaps by the time everything is finally ready to go to Mars a new superfoods that has all of the benefits meats have to provide will be discovered and the problem will be solved completely. Whatever the case, it can be concluded that while Mars will not be visited any time soon, it will never have to worry about being the host of knock off Kung Fu