Bengaluru: Strengthening ties between India and the US in the space sector has the potential to lead to large-scale missions to the Moon and even a joint lunar observatory in the future, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman S. Somanath said at an Indo-US commercial space conclave in Bengaluru Friday.
Such ambitions require the “highest levels of support”, which is “very clearly coming from the leadership in both nations”, said Somanath. With US Ambassador Eric Garcetti also in attendance, Somanath said that “after PM [Narendra] Modi, now [US President Joe] Biden is accelerating new collaborations in critical space technology. We are taking this forward at a much greater pace than ever before.”
At the event, organised by the US-India Business Council and attended by members of traditional and new space companies, Somanath and Garcetti also confirmed several previously announced joint missions, such as cooperative work on the upcoming NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) mission for Earth observation, the ongoing training of two Indian astronauts at NASA facilities for a two-week-long flight one of them will make to the International Space Station later this year, and prospective collaboration on missions to the Moon under the Artemis Accords. Somanath also confirmed that ISRO has a mandate to build a space station by 2035 and land a human on the Moon by 2040.
Speaking of private industry cooperation in space activities of both nations, Somanath referred to the upcoming GSAT 20 communication satellites, which SpaceX is preparing to launch, adding that ISRO is also currently in talks with Boeing and other private companies for launches.
Somanath also added that the privatisation of LVM3 (Launch Vehicle Mark 3) production, announced by NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), ISRO’s commercial arm, is the right way to go for reducing costs and making launch vehicles accessible to the global industry.
Garcetti, who also recalled the longstanding ties between ISRO and NASA going back to the times of Vikram Sarabhai, called attention to the more than 173 cooperative technology projects between India and the US through joint working groups, including those in the defence sector like the Indus X programme and air travel. He also added that the approach towards collaborative space projects focuses on peace, prosperity, the planet and people.
Earlier in the day, Garcetti, during a formal visit to the ISRO headquarters, discussed ongoing collaborative projects with Somanath. The two discussed future programmes such as professional exchange visits, the continuation of balloon experiments, and the need to address access to critical components and items to expedite collaborative missions.
They also discussed NASA’s participation in India’s proposal for a G20 satellite for monitoring the Earth’s environment and climate change. India has also proposed an advanced imaging spectrometer satellite as a follow-up mission for NISAR. The Gaganyaan cargo module, as an option for cargo transfer to the International Space Station in the future, was discussed, too. Meanwhile, the US ambassador has also proposed a QUAD satellite as a partnership between four countries, a project that will include and benefit India.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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