Volunteers Sought for Simulated Mars Mission and Study of 'Menu Fatigue'

Astronauts on a mission to Mars will need much more than freeze-dried ice cream to sustain them, and researchers at Cornell are working to determine the best way to keep them well nourished during their three-year journeys and four-month stays on the Red Planet.

To do so, they are seeking volunteers to spend four months in a simulated Mars habitat on the barren lava fields of Hawai'i.

Jean Hunter, associate professor of biological and environmental engineering, and Bruce Halpern, professor of psychology and neurobiology and behavior, have teamed up with Kim Binsted, associate professor of information and computer science at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa, to conduct a $947,000, three-year NASA study on the diets of the six volunteers, who will be required to live and work like astronauts, including suiting up in space gear whenever they venture outdoors. Read More