On November 28 in New Delhi, Indian Minister of Science and Technology Jitendra Singh received Director General of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Bill Nelson, who is on a working visit to the South Asian country.
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| Indian Minister of Science and Technology Jitendra Singh (left) and NASA Administrator Bill Nelson during a meeting in New Delhi, India, on November 28. (Source: Press Information Bureau) |
At the meeting, Minister Singh said that India and the US plan to jointly launch a joint remote sensing satellite in the first quarter of 2024.
The joint satellite, named NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR), is scheduled to be launched by India’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV). NISAR will enhance Earth observation capabilities and aid in studies of terrestrial ecosystems, solid deformation of the Earth, and the polar cryosphere.
NASA Administrator Nelson congratulated Minister Singh on the historic landing of India's Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft on the pristine south polar region of the Moon, and urged New Delhi to expedite its programme to send India's first astronaut to the International Space Station (ISS) using a NASA launch vehicle.
In response, Minister Singh mentioned that space startups are thriving in India.
He noted that in just about four years, the number of space startups in the country has grown to more than 150, some of which have developed into large business ventures.
Previously, during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US (June 2023), the two countries agreed to jointly conduct a 2-week space flight next year.
The collaboration between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and NASA has led to the formation of a Joint Working Group (JWG) on cooperation in human spaceflight.
The 8th meeting of the India-US Joint Working Group on Civil Space Cooperation (CSJWG) held in January 2023 highlighted the commitment to enhance bilateral space cooperation.
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