High in the cold desert of Ladakh, at the edge of one of the harshest environments on the planet, ISRO has built a space station on Earth. It’s called HOPE — Himalayan Outpost for Planetary Exploration. Set up in Tso Kar Valley, this high-altitude region mirrors conditions on Mars and the Moon. This is where India is now testing how humans will live, survive, and work on other planets. Inside the HOPE station: • Astronaut life-support systems are being tested • The impact of isolation on the hum