Recruiting chefs to cook for astronauts on Mars

Scientists are working on a project to simulate Mars-flying missions in Hawaii (USA), or HI-SEAS for short, to find the best dishes for astronauts coming to Mars.

Finding delicious dishes for astronauts is important because they often lose weight.

This project has called for candidates to participate in the study since February 2012. So far there are 700 applications for participation. Among these, scientists will select 150 people who qualify for scientific qualifications and skills as true astronauts to better simulate the diet and lifestyle of astronauts. Real cylinder. The project even included some NASA astronauts.

Currently scientists are preparing to put 6 of the selection on the Hi-SEAS mission to find the best dishes for astronauts on the way and when they come to the Red Planet. These six people will live in an environment like in Hawaii for 4 months, eat instant food and homemade food made from ingredients with long shelf life. Cooking equipment includes a small oven, microwave and other necessary tools and foods that can be used long without cold storage.

After that, they will fill in the details of the food that was taken into the survey to track and evaluate the foods as well as the health and psychological state. Because astronauts often lose weight when performing missions on space, they need to eat well. But it was difficult for them to find delicious food before, said researcher Kim Binsted of the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Before carrying out the task of bringing people to Mars in 2013, scientists hope to identify the best foods and recipes to provide a delicious meal for astronauts. In addition, the Hi-SEAS implementation team will also study other topics such as exercise equipment and other antibiotic devices in space.