ISRO's mission in Leh to mimic Mars, lunar landscape

BENGALURU: ISRO on Friday said its analogue space mission has taken off at Leh in Ladakh, where it will simulate life in an interplanetary habitat as India prepares to send a human to the moon.

The initiative is a collaborative effort of the Human Spaceflight Centre, ISRO; AAKA Space Studio; University of Ladakh; and IIT-Bombay, and supported by the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council.

Kicked off mid-October, the month-long mission comes in the wake of India's plans to set up lunar habitats, which could provide a base to launch inter-planetary missions.

The geographical features of Ladakh are considered to have a close resemblance to Martian and lunar landscapes and are an ideal training ground for scientific missions aimed at exploring planets. "India's first analog space mission kicks off in Leh...this mission will simulate life in an interplanetary habitat to tackle the challenges of a base station beyond Earth," ISRO said.

The team is also studying how the human body adapts to the harsh weather conditions in Ladakh which could be useful in understanding how astronauts could get used to space-like conditions.

The AAKA Space Studio team is testing environment suits and conducting geological studies in Leh's low-oxygen environment, simulating space-like conditions, which could be crucial for future space missions.

(With PTI inputs)