India's Moon base might look like an egg pod

India's Hab-1 space pod was tested in the Himalayan mountains

This egg-shaped space pod could be the future home of India's astronauts.

The Hab-1 has been tested as part of India's first space simulation project.

Isro - India's space agency - has been doing its first-ever tests here on Earth that aim to prepare astronauts for real space missions.

Hab-1 was recently tested for three weeks in Ladakh, in the high Himalayan mountains, because experts say "its rocky, barren landscape and soil have similarities with the material and rocks found on Mars and some parts of the lunar terrain which make it ideal for space research".

The astronaut spent three weeks in India's first test space mission

Hab-1 has a bed, a fold-away which can be pulled out and used as a workstation, storage space to keep supplies and emergency kits, a mini-kitchen for heating meals and a toilet.

An astronaut spent three weeks living in it.

Space architect Aastha Kacha-Jhala, from the company Aaka said: "Hab-1 is designed keeping in mind that space is going to be very limited on the Moon or Mars... The astronaut will also have very limited water so we designed a dry toilet.

"We also put in place a system for a proper disposal of waste and ensured that the habitat remained odour-free."

In 2025 Isro's Gaganyaan mission plans to put astronauts into orbit, 248 miles up, for three days.

Two of the four Indian astronauts involved are being trained at Nasa.

India also plans to set up its first space station by 2035 and send a human to the Moon by 2040.

The test astronaut - who hasn't been named - spent three weeks living in the capsule.

"I was isolated from the human environment. Every move that I made was scheduled, when to wake up, what to do when and when to sleep? A 24x7 camera monitored every move and sent data about my activities and health," the 24-year-old told BBC News journalist, Geeta Pandey.

"The initial few days," he said, "were great, but then it began to feel repetitive and it started to get to me. It started impacting my daily performance."

The test astronaut wore biometric devices to monitor his sleep, heart rate and stress levels. His blood and saliva were tested daily to see how he was coping.

With space agencies from across the world aiming to send astronauts to the Moon and set up permanent bases there in the coming years, simulation missions play a big part in research and training.

Experts say these tests can help them develop medical tech to deal with astronauts' needs when they face a problem in space.