Hawaii may be considered paradise to most people, but for a select group of people undergoing a scientific study, it's a pure form of Hell... at least, that's what initial reports suggest. Why? Because a group of scientists are simulating life on Mars in Hawaii, and using the group to study the psychological effects of the Red Planet on the human psyche!

And, if MSN's report is anything to go by, there will be a LOT of work for psychologists on the Red Planet, should we decide to colonize. NASA has teamed up with the University of Hawaii to study "space madness" -- that is, the effects of long-term isolation in a spaceship.The subjects are on Hawaii's Big Island -- Mauna Loa is as close to Mars as we're going to get on planet Earth (seeing as how it's filled with volcanic soil).

Three men and three women -- selected from a group of 700 applicants -- are undergoing the study, and they're from the upper eschelons of human intelligence: a neuropsychologist, an aerospace engineer, and an Air Force veteran who is studying human factors in aviation are amongst the participants. These people will be living together in 1000 square feet for four months...under a dome.

And, according to The Atlantic, the scientists plan to make their lives a living Hell. "We're going to stress them," Kim Binsted, the project's principal investigator, said. "That's the nature of the study."

For centuries people have speculated about the possibility of life on Mars due to the planet's proximity and similarity to Earth. Serious searches for evidence of life began in the 19th century, and they continue today via telescopic investigations and landed missions. While early work focused on phenomenology and bordered on fantasy, modern scientific inquiry has emphasized the search for water, chemical biosignatures in the soil and rocks at the planet's surface, and biomarker gases in the atmosphere.

On January 24, 2014, NASA reported that current studies on the planet Mars by the Curiosity and Opportunity rovers will now be searching for evidence of ancient life, including a biosphere based on autotrophic, chemotrophic, and/or chemolithoautotrophic microorganisms. The search for evidence of habitability, taphonomy (related to fossils), and organic carbon on the planet Mars is now a primary NASA objective.