Between Two Worlds

The Expedition

Where Earth Meets Mars

Between Two Worlds Crew 1 was an eight-day expedition that brought twelve hand-picked crew members into Ladakh's stunning high-altitude landscapes — terrain so stark that Earth itself feels like another planet. Participants learned directly from leading planetary scientists about our world and the journey toward Mars, the next frontier.

Present-day Ladakh resembles Mars as it was billions of years ago, and the expedition's scientists are part of a global effort to study it. Crew 1 became the first cohort to help build India's first analogue research station — the Himalayan Outpost for Planetary Exploration (HOPE), in the Tso Kar basin. The journey blended adventure, science and cultural immersion, exploring Mars-like ground right here on Earth.

The crew camped beneath some of the darkest skies on the planet, preparing scientific sketches and contributing to dark-sky conservation efforts alongside the International Dark Sky movement. They dined with an ancient nomadic community, learning to read the landscape's evolution through generations of local wisdom — and heard seasoned expeditioners share the life stories that drew them to a way of living that learns from the present and trains for tomorrow.