This initiative is designed to replicate the operational and psychological conditions astronauts encounter during extended missions in space, providing a critical training and research platform for future lunar and deep-space exploration.
The facility, expected to commence operations later this year, will be housed in a controlled aquatic environment and serve as a testbed for astronaut training, habitat systems research, microgravity simulation and human performance studies. It comes at a time when India is accelerating its human spaceflight roadmap through the Gaganyaan mission and the proposed Bharatiya Antariksh Station.
Globally, underwater habitats are recognised as one of the closest Earth-based analogues to space conditions. Astronauts in orbit face isolation, confinement, reliance on engineered life-support systems, restricted mobility and altered spatial orientation.
The new Indian habitat is being designed to simulate these challenges, with neutral buoyancy underwater serving as a proxy for microgravity. This technique allows astronauts to practise spacewalks, manoeuvre within confined habitats and interact with equipment in ways that closely mimic reduced-gravity conditions.
Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, who returned from the International Space Station during the Axiom-4 mission in 2025, highlighted how the absence of gravity fundamentally alters body orientation, balance and task execution, underscoring the importance of such training environments.
The initial phase of the program will be conducted in a controlled underwater setting rather than open-ocean deployments, ensuring safety while enabling researchers to study habitat systems, environmental control, ventilation, crew psychology and biomedical monitoring.
This phased approach will allow gradual progression toward more advanced underwater missions. Aaka Space has already demonstrated its capabilities through India’s first space analogue mission in Ladakh, where operational and psychological conditions similar to extra-terrestrial environments were simulated in high-altitude terrain.
The start-up has also participated in international analogue astronautics programmes under the Austrian Space Forum and conducted experimental studies on Martian habitat shielding using 3D-printed Regolith simulants.
Founder Aastha Jhala emphasised that the underwater habitat programme will support interdisciplinary research across human physiology, neutral buoyancy simulation, microgravity operations, biomedical telemetry, circadian rhythm regulation, behavioural psychology and confined-environment architecture.
Such research is vital, as astronauts travelling to the Moon or Mars may spend months inside enclosed artificial environments where stress, disrupted sleep cycles, fatigue, carbon dioxide accumulation and isolation can directly impact performance and survival.
Recent international studies have shown that confined environments can significantly affect cardiovascular function, respiratory response, cognitive performance and emotional stability, highlighting the need for robust life-support systems and psychological resilience strategies.
If successful, this initiative will place India among a select group of nations actively developing underwater analogue habitats as preparation platforms for human space exploration beyond Earth. Discussions are already underway regarding the training of Indian astronauts in the habitat, though final approval will depend on clearance from the Indian Space Research Organisation.
Aaka Space has also recently achieved a breakthrough by developing and testing Asia’s first 3D-printed Mars radiation shield, marking progress in sustainable extra-terrestrial construction technologies. Together, these efforts underscore India’s determination to build future-ready infrastructure for human spaceflight and long-duration missions.
India Today
