Two Hawaii students just won a national NASA contest for designing a food system to feed astronauts on Mars, a win for Hawaii innovation and for future space travelers.

• Seniors Leilani Jensen and Raven Cromer were one of five winning teams nationwide, earning $50,000.
• NASA asked teams to design food systems that work with limited supplies from Earth.
• Their plan borrows from the traditional Hawaiian Auwai system, linking fish farming and crop growing so waste from one feeds the other.
• They cooked and taste tested a two-week astronaut menu, including peanut stew and a mushroom burger.

Outlook: NASA is expected to keep developing these student-designed systems as it plans food supply chains for future Mars missions.