New Delhi: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has been invited by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to join its Moon Base programme in a bid to deepen the India-US partnership under the Artemis Accords, the US Embassy said on Tuesday.
The two sides have also agreed to advance discussions for cooperation on open scientific data sharing under the Accords that seek to to enhance the governance of the civil exploration and use of outer space.
NASA is building a Moon Base near the lunar South Pole to strengthen US’ leadership in space, unlock scientific discovery, drive innovation with industry and international collaborators, and prepare humanity for missions to Mars.
India became the first country in the world to land a spacecraft near the Moon’s South Pole on August 23, 2023. ISRO’s Chandrayaan-3 mission landed the Vikram lander and Pragyan rover at a site later named Shiv Shakti Point.
India became the 27th signatory of the Artemis Accord on June 21, 2023. The Accord is meant to guide space exploration cooperation among nations, as reported by Hindustan Times.
India and the US advanced their discussions on civil and commercial space cooperation and also focused on pursuing future science and human space flight technology partnerships, the release by the US Embassy said.
These discussions took place during the 9th meeting of the India-US Civil Space Joint Working Group (CSJWG), hosted by India on August 5 and 6 at the ISRO headquarters in Bengaluru, it added.