India has recorded a pioneering milestone in planetary construction research through its first participation in a global analogue mission simulating extra-terrestrial habitats. Conducted in Gujarat over two weeks, the experiment featured Asia’s first indigenously designed and 3D-printed Martian Regolith Radiation Shield.

The innovation was jointly developed by Ahmedabad-based Aaka Space and MiCoB, marking India’s formal entry into global efforts to build sustainable habitats for future Mars missions.

The Regolith shield was fabricated using Indian-sourced materials formulated to mimic Martian soil properties. Once assembled with locally produced Regolith simulant filler compounds, the dome doubled as both a load-bearing structure and a radiation barrier.

Designed for realism, it hosted microgreen varieties to test how radiation, temperature fluctuations, and environmental conditions influence biomaterial growth. Data from the experiment will be compared with controlled laboratory samples to measure the shield’s effectiveness in protecting life-support systems from cosmic radiation.

MiCoB’s founder, Shashank Shekar, stated that large-scale Regolith printing presents numerous engineering challenges, especially in achieving material uniformity and precision under constrained conditions.

Integrating in-situ resource utilisation (ISRU) strategies with advanced additive manufacturing demonstrated India’s capability to create scalable solutions for extra-terrestrial construction. This experiment also validates the feasibility of producing space structures using indigenous technologies rather than relying on imported materials or pre-assembled modules.

Aaka Space’s founder, Aastha Jhala, emphasised that testing the shield in the world’s largest analogue mission represented a landmark opportunity to measure real-world performance under tightly monitored conditions.

She noted that the effort aligns with India’s long-term ambitions for off-world settlement research. The Aaka–MiCoB collaboration, she added, symbolises a decisive step toward autonomous habitat construction on Mars, reinforcing India’s growing role in the international space research ecosystem.

Complementing the habitat studies, IIT-Madras contributed a Mars rover prototype for the Human–Machine Interaction (HMI) extravehicular activity simulation. This experiment explored collaborative operations between astronauts and robotic systems in planetary surface exploration.

The rover performed soil sample retrieval and logistical transport tasks, comparing operational safety, efficiency, and load management with manual methods. Findings from the trial will refine future astronaut–robot cooperation strategies in crewed missions to Mars.

Thirteen distinct international experiments formed part of the Gujarat analogue mission, encompassing human factors, psychology, and biological resilience in isolation. The University of East Anglia conducted an “Emotional Response Analysis” to assess confinement-related behavioural changes, while Sapienza University of Rome’s “INDEX” project examined cognitive reasoning under stress. 

Germany’s “Marscraft” studied social dynamics in confined habitats, and University College London trialled “SpaceSeed”, a psychological health experiment on plant cultivation as a morale booster.

India contributed meaningfully across the biological and experimental spectrum. A government college from Coonoor undertook the “Tardigrade” study, probing the survival limits of extremophiles under simulated Martian stress conditions. Kolkata’s Institute of Astronomy, Space & Earth Science ran the “Plant Shock” experiment, evaluating stress tolerance in vegetation exposed to Regolith-based substrates.

Nirma University of Ahmedabad led twin studies focusing on microbial colony dynamics and drug crystallisation in confined environments, extending India’s multidisciplinary participation beyond materials science into astrobiology and pharma-space research.

The successful integration of multiple Indian teams into a high-intensity international analogue mission underscores India’s expanding competence in space life sciences, structural technology, and planetary ecosystem simulation.

The outcomes from Gujarat are expected to inform future collaborative projects on Mars analogue infrastructure, autonomous additive construction, and astronautic operations in harsh environments. The mission’s success strengthens India’s position as an emerging hub for space habitat technology development, resonating with the global vision of sustainable interplanetary settlement.

Based On TOI Report