India’s first analog space mission: Could this be what our home on Moon or Mars might look like?

Could this egg-shaped structure be what the future home of Indian astronauts in space looks like?

The Hab-1 – short for Habitat-1 – is Indian space agency Isro’s first-ever “analog mission” which means simulation of space conditions to prepare astronauts for real space missions. It was recently tested for three weeks in the high Himalayan mountains of Ladakh.

Space architect Aastha Kacha-Jhala, from Gujarat-based firm Aaka, told the BBC that these simulations help identify and address issues astronauts and equipment might face before space missions.

Built with space-grade Teflon and insulated with industrial-use foam, Hab-1 has a bed, a stowaway tray which can be pulled out and used as a workstation, storage space to keep supplies and emergency kits, a kitchenette for heating meals and a toilet. An astronaut in simulation spent three weeks holed up in the facility.

“Hab-1 is designed keeping in mind that space is going to be very limited on the Moon or Mars,” Ms Kacha-Jhala says. “The astronaut will also have very limited water so we designed a dry toilet. We also put in place a system for a proper disposal of waste and ensured that the habitat remained odour-free.”

She is now in talks with Isro to build India’s first permanent simulation space facility in Ladakh.

The mission comes at a time when India is preparing to send its first astronauts into space.

Isro’s Gaganyaan mission plans to place three astronauts into low-Earth orbit at an altitude of 400km (248 miles) for three days. If all goes according to plan, the mission will launch sometime next year. India also plans to set up its first space station by 2035 and send a man to the Moon by 2040.

Nasa, European Space Agency, Russia, China and other countries and private firms with space programmes run dozens of simulation missions and two of the four Indian astronauts selected for the Gaganyaan mission are being trained at Nasa at the moment.

“Once we have our own simulation mission, we won’t have to depend on foreign space agencies to train our astronauts,” says Prof Subrat Sharma, Dean of Research Studies at Ladakh University which collaborated on the project.

Ladakh, he told the BBC, was chosen for the experiment because “from a geographical perspective, its rocky, barren landscape and soil have similarities with the material and rocks found on Mars and some parts of the lunar terrain which make it ideal for space research”.

The soil samples collected during the mission are being tested by the university to see if astronauts will be able to use locally-sourced materials to build homes in space.

The Himalayan region on the India-China border is located at a height of 3,500 metres (11,483ft) and has extreme climatic conditions and thin air. In a day, the temperature here can shift from a maximum of 20C to a minimum of -18C.

It’s no match for Mars (where temperatures can go below -153C) or Moon (where -250C is the norm in some deep craters), but still, it’s a test of human endurance. And as Prof Sharma says, “since you can’t go to space to test every time, you need these facilities where space-like conditions can be created”.

Also, he adds, Ladakh is one region of India where barren land stretches for miles and miles, “giving you the feeling of being alone on the planet”.

And that’s exactly how the simulation astronaut, who spent three weeks confined in the capsule in the icy cold desert, felt.

“I was isolated from the human environment. Every move that I made was scheduled, when to wake up, what to do when and when to sleep? A 24×7 camera monitored every move and sent data about my activities and health to the back office,” the 24-year-old who did not want to be named told me.

“The initial few days,” he said, “were great, but then it began to feel repetitive and it started to get to me. It started impacting my daily performance. My sleep schedule was affected a little and my concentration deteriorated.”

The simulation astronaut wore biometric devices to monitor his sleep pattern, heart rate and stress levels. His blood and saliva were tested daily to see how he was coping.

Scientists say simulating psychological factors to see how they would impact humans in space is one of the most important parts of the mission.

With space agencies from across the world aiming to send astronauts to the Moon and set up permanent bases there in the coming years, simulation missions are expected to play a crucial role in research and training.

In April, a team of scientists and engineers began trials in Oregon to prepare Nasa’s robot dog – Lassie – to walk on the Moon’s surface. In July, four volunteers emerged after spending a year at an “analog” facility, specially built in Texas to simulate life on Mars.

And according to the Economist magazine, Nasa hopes to 3D-print a base using only materials found on the Moon’s surface, while China and Russia are collaborating on their own plans.⁠

India doesn’t want to be left behind. Prof Sharma says once the data gathered in Ladakh is analysed, it “will help us develop medical technology to deal with the needs of our astronauts when they face a problem in space”.

“We need to know how our bodies will function on the Moon where days and nights are a lot longer than on Earth. Or in space where there’s not enough oxygen” he says.

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