Chris said the team chose Nepali mountains to trek as Nepal has been known as the best tourist destination in the world. Chris said he, along with a few friends, were also on a NASA's unofficial Mt. Qomolangma expedition last year.

Steve said trekking to the base camp will be comparable in some ways to what astronauts face while engaging in a long spacewalk or an excursion on the surface of the moon or Mars. Mt. Qomolangma provides a good space analog, he added.

Maule said the team's search would benefit future space travelers. The outcomes of the research would aid future research projects of the NASA, he said.

According to Maule, their research could help scientists develop efficient procedures for future field studies on moon and Mars.

Arriving in the Nepali capital Kathmandu on Sunday, the team will leave for Lukla in the south side of Mt. Qomolangma on Monday and is scheduled to return to Kathmandu on May 2, said Ram Sapkota, manager of Samrat Tours and Travels, the local co-organizer of the trekking team.

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Editor:Yang Jie