The physical heart of the entire platform.
A permanent, purpose-built analog research station on the Muktinath–Jhong–Lupra shelf in Mustang, Nepal. Engineered for authentic mission conditions and open to qualified researchers, universities, corporate teams and film crews from any country.
Not simulated.
A cold desert that behaves like Mars.
Upper Mustang is a Trans-Himalayan cold desert. Not a snowy peak, but a barren, ochre-red, wind-sculpted landscape of canyons, eroded badlands, ancient lake sediments and cave systems carved into cliff faces. Scientists have noted its extraordinary similarity to the terrain NASA's Curiosity rover explores on Mars.
Critically, no other bookable analog station combines three features in one place: altitude-thinned air, genuine Mars-like geology and true geographic isolation.
The concept is already validated: in late 2024 ISRO ran its first analog mission in Ladakh, a geological sibling of Mustang. That facility is closed. Ours is open. In late 2025 the Government of Nepal simplified access to Upper Mustang, cutting fees and opening new road access.
Mars Desert Research Station
~1,300 m. No meaningful altitude effect on the body.
Indoor habitats
Sea level, indoors. Isolation only.
MARS-1
Altitude + Mars-grade terrain + isolation, in one bookable site.
A complete six-person habitat campus.
Phase 1 delivers a connected living-and-working structure of roughly 3,000 square metres, engineered for authentic mission conditions.
Six private sleeping pods
Individual crew quarters around a shared social kitchen and dining area.
Split wet / dry laboratory
Dedicated benches for biological and geological work.
Spacewalk preparation room
Suit-up, checkout and airlock-style egress for field EVAs.
Buoyancy (scuba) facility
Neutral-buoyancy water training simulating Lunar and Mars gravity via upthrust.
Greenhouse
Plant-growth experiments under controlled conditions, toward closed-loop life support.
Comms hub, workshop & storage
Mission operations plus full fabrication and logistics support.
Engineered scarcity. Because that is the science.
The station runs on a solar array with battery backup and a generator for reliability. Water is sourced, purified and carefully metered. Managing limited resources is itself part of what makes a mission authentic.
Communications use licensed satellite internet and 4G, with a configurable time-delay system that mimics the real communication lag between Earth and Mars. A Mission Control Centre in Manang oversees every mission, monitors crew health data and manages the simulated "Earth communications" that make the isolation real.
Research that compounds into a first-of-its-kind dataset.
Human physiology
The body under reduced air pressure, across multi-day missions.
Isolation & team dynamics
How confinement and stress shape crew decision-making.
Geological surveys
Field mapping of the surrounding Mars-analog terrain.
Robotics testing
Autonomy and mobility in unstructured outdoor environments.
Plant growth
Greenhouse experiments toward closed-loop life support.
Reduced-gravity work
Buoyancy training approximating extra-terrestrial gravity.
Every mission generates a standardized dataset. Heart rate, blood-oxygen levels, sleep quality and cognitive performance. That compounds over time into one of the most comprehensive high-altitude analog datasets ever collected. Filmmakers, documentary teams and corporate innovation retreats can also book the station, diversifying revenue beyond academia.
Foundations to mission commander.
Each phase proves itself
before the next.
Foundations
Company & foundation registered. Site surveys in Mustang and Manang. Land agreements and MOUs signed. Danphe-T suit prototyped.
SeedBuild & Launch
MARS-1 habitat campus constructed. Kathmandu Mission Control established. First AA-200 cohorts and paid research missions.
Series AScale
Moon simulation yard with regolith surface. Winter isolation missions. 8–10 cohorts a year. First Himalayan Space Summit.
Series BNational Infrastructure
Satellite testing centre commissioned with anchor customers. Upper Mustang cave expeditions open. 10+ publications a year.
Series CSatellite Testing Centre · Kathmandu Valley
In a later phase, a dedicated facility near Kathmandu will give Nepal and its South Asian neighbours a domestic home for the environmental testing that certifies satellites as space-ready: vibration, thermal-vacuum and cleanroom integration.
Explore the infrastructure →