NASA invites ISRO to join Moon Base programme for lunar South Pole outpost

NASA has invited ISRO to join its Moon Base programme aimed at establishing a permanent human outpost near the lunar South Pole. The proposal emerged during India-US space talks in Bengaluru, alongside discussions on scientific data sharing and future human spaceflight cooperation

New Delhi: In a major move to deepen bilateral space collaboration, NASA has invited the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to join its ambitious programme to build humanity’s first lunar outpost near the Moon’s South Pole.

The project named Moon Base mission is aimed at setting up a permanent habitat for astronauts to live, work, and explore through a series of crewed and uncrewed missions. According to the US space agency, the aim of the project is to unlock new scientific discoveries, and prepare for future deep space exploration.

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India and the US explored expanding their space cooperation at a meeting of their Civil Space Joint Working Group (CSJWG) held in Bengaluru last week. “The NASA invited ISRO to join its Moon Base programme, building on the two countries’ partnership under the Artemis Accords,” according to a joint press statement.

The two sides also agreed to advance discussions for cooperation on open scientific data sharing under the accords, it said. The meeting advanced civil and commercial space cooperation under the US-India Transforming the Relationship Utilising Strategic Technology (TRUST) initiative.

The TRUST was unveiled in February last year to promote application of critical and emerging technologies in areas like defence, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, quantum, biotechnology, energy, and space.

“Both sides discussed expanding cooperation following the successful launch of the joint NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission last year, as well as pursuing future science and human space flight technology collaborations,” the joint statement said.

It said both sides reaffirmed their commitment to advancing the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) guidelines on the long-term sustainability of outer space activities, as well as reviewed ongoing multilateral efforts for ensuring the Committee’s effectiveness.

The ninth meeting of the CSJWG was hosted by India on August 5 and 6 at ISRO’s headquarters in Bengaluru. ISRO chairman V Narayanan and US Ambassador Sergio Gor addressed the opening segment of the meeting and highlighted the significance of further strengthening the bilateral space cooperation.

The meeting was co-chaired on the Indian side by M Sankaran, Director, UR Rao Satellite Centre at ISRO. The US side was co-chaired by Wesley Brooks, Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs and Kathleen Karika, NASA Associate Administrator for International and Inter-agency Relations.