Researchers spent four months pretending to live on Mars in order to test out food astronauts might eat on the red planet.
Six people were selected to live on a "simulated Martian base" on a Hawaiian lava field for four months. They prepared dehydrated astronaut food in order to work improve extraterrestrial food boredom and malnutrition, the Associated Press via the New York Times reported.
Team's commander, Angelo Vermeulen, told the AP the study hopes to combat health problems associated with the low fiber non-perishable foods.
Lack of dietary fiber can cause a number of physical issues including: constipation, obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer, FitDay reported.
The team will emerge from their simulated space dome on Tuesday.
"It will be the first time they feel fresh air on their faces," said Kim Binsted, a UH-Manoa associate professor who participated in the study told the AP.
"It's hard to believe, but this experience is almost over. This was really driven home today, as some of the crewmembers started packing their personal belongings," hi-seas.org, the study's website, stated.
The crew members cooked meals that had been submitted in a contest, recipe submissions could only use non-perishable food items.
Some of the first place contest winners (divided into categories by meal) were: no-crust quiche muffins, Moroccan beef tagine, spam friend rice, lemon-dill pasta salad, and "dark matter" cake.
The recipes used ingredients such as egg crystals, milk powder, rehydrated vegetables, dried fruit, nuts, spices, freeze-dried meat, and a lot of Spam.
Remote Hawaii was an ideal place to conduct the mission because the temperature is moderate and there is very little vegetation, similar to Mars, the AP reported.
When the crew leaves the simulated Martian base they will participate in a debriefing and have a much-needed beach outing before returning to their terrestrial homes.
The NASA-funded study hopes to present their research at the International Astronautical Congress in a few months, the AP reported.
WATCH:
