April 7, 2000 -- In a remote corner of Cornell University, 16 volunteers recently dined exclusively on space food for 30 days. As if they were marooned in a Martian space
colony, the volunteers ate nothing but extraterrestrial cuisine: sweet potato pancakes, lentil loaf sandwiches, seitan (vegetarian) tacos, carrot drumsticks and
chocolate soy candy.

To stick to the space food regimen, one volunteer had to forgo her wedding banquet and a taste of her wedding cake, while another brought a cooler with his
soybean loaf to eat at one of the finest restaurants in Ithaca, NY, so he could take his girlfriend out for Valentine's Day.

The objective of the ongoing project is to help NASA plan the cuisine for future lunar and Martian space colonies by developing recipes that astronauts can
prepare from a limited set of 15 to 30 crops to be grown in future space habitats. Wheat and potatoes are the staples to be complemented with rice, soy and
peanuts, salad crops and
fresh herbs, all to be grown hydroponically in artificially lit, temperature-controlled space farms.

The space food diet consisted of plant-based foods that had to be tasty, nutritious and economical. They also had to be low in salt (because sodium from
recycled urine in a space colony would be bad for crops), low in iron (for space adaptation), not labor-intensive (astronauts' time is at a premium) and sparing
in their use of any ingredients difficult to produce in a space colony (cargo weight also is at a premium).

"We're trying to find out if our space foods wear well and maintain their appeal if consumed as a complete diet for 30 days," says Jean Hunter, an associate
professor of agricultural and biological engineering at Cornell who is heading up the NASA-funded project. To find out, the space-cuisine team is analyzing
acceptability ratings from the participants and food consumption (all servings and leftovers were weighed). In addition, the team is analyzing the physical and
psychological side effects of the low-salt, high-fiber diet by tracking body weight and daily measures of
health, well-being and mood.

"We've noticed for example, that nobody liked our dairy substitutes, such as soy and rice milk, during our taste panels. But our subjects got used to them and
accepted them just fine once they started eating them regularly," Hunter said.

"Because the cost of transporting food for these missions will be astronomical, only about 15 percent of calories will be from earthmade foods," added David
Levitsky, professor of nutritional sciences and of psychology, who is also working on the project. "Our dishes, therefore, will typically contain under 10
percent of calories from earthmade foods. These imported foods will probably be the fats, flavor concentrates and various meat and dairy-based foods to be
used mostly as condiments as well as a few luxuries such as chocolate. This will allow the crew to splurge on weekly special meals and a monthly feast, which
will be important to break up the monotony and isolation of long-term space travel."