US, India strengthen Space partnership

NASA and ISRO astronauts to train together for International Space Station mission.

Representative Image. | ANI

New Delhi: The United States and India are strengthening their space partnership, aiming to enhance cooperation in civil, security, and commercial space sectors, according to a joint statement released Tuesday.  The statement came after a visit by U.S. Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer, Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, and Indian Ambassador to the United States Vinay Kwatra to the Johnson Space Center in Houston.  The trip highlighted the progress made since President Biden and Prime Minister Modi committed to deepening space cooperation in June 2023, a White House release stated.

 

Finer, Campbell, and Kwatra traveled to Houston to showcase the progress made in strengthening space cooperation, including under the U.S.-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET). The two nations have reached a pivotal point in their collaboration across all sectors of space, following President Biden and Prime Minister Modi’s commitment to “reach new frontiers” in space cooperation and India’s signing of the Artemis Accords, the statement said.

During their visit, Finer and Campbell met with representatives from NASA, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), and industry leaders to discuss ways to further bolster the space partnership. They also reviewed recent achievements and outlined future goals for the partnership.

According to the release, the two nations are taking steps to further enhance cooperation, including the selection of two ISRO astronauts to train at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. This will be the first time American and Indian astronauts will train together for a mission to the International Space Station, with Axiom Space providing support. The mission, scheduled to launch as early as spring 2025, represents a major milestone in both the U.S.-India space partnership and in space exploration.

The U.S. and India have also finalized a Strategic Framework for Human Spaceflight Cooperation, a step designed to increase interoperability in space. The two nations are also working on a new agreement for advanced astronaut training.

The U.S. and India are collaborating on the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission, which is expected to launch in early 2025 from India’s Satish Dhawan Space Center.  NISAR will provide a comprehensive view of Earth’s surface, collecting data twice every 12 days. The mission’s two radars, one from NASA and one from ISRO, will work in tandem to map the Earth’s surface motion, providing valuable insights for predicting and responding to natural hazards, measuring changes in infrastructure and resources, and addressing other global challenges.