New Delhi, India, August 11 (ANI): India and the United States advanced discussions on civil and commercial space cooperation and also focused on pursuing future science and human spaceflight technology partnerships, the U.S. Embassy said in a press release Tuesday.
In a post on X, U.S. Ambassador to India Sergio Gor stated, “NASA has invited @ISRO to join its Moon Base program, deepening the U.S.-India deep space partnership! The news came as @StateDept and @NASA co-chaired the 9th Civil Space Joint Working Group in Bengaluru, advancing the U.S.-India TRUST initiative.”
The discussions took place during the ninth meeting of the India-U.S. Civil Space Joint Working Group (CSJWG), hosted by India on Aug. 5-6, 2026, at the headquarters of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in Bengaluru.
Dr. V. Narayanan, chairman of ISRO and secretary of the Department of Space, and Sergio Gor, U.S. ambassador to India, addressed the opening session and highlighted the significance of further strengthening bilateral space cooperation.
The meeting was co-chaired on the Indian side by M. Sankaran, director of the UR Rao Satellite Centre at ISRO, and on the U.S. side by Dr. Wesley Brooks, assistant secretary of state for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, and Kathleen Karika, NASA associate administrator for International and Interagency Relations, the press release noted.
The meeting advanced civil and commercial space cooperation under the India-U.S. Transforming the Relationship Utilizing Strategic Technology (TRUST) Initiative, in line with the February 2025 Joint Leaders’ Statement issued by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump.
According to the release, 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 spaceflight technology collaborations.
They 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 and reviewed ongoing multilateral efforts to ensure the committee’s effectiveness.
The release mentioned that NASA invited ISRO to join its Moon Base program, building on the two countries’ partnership under the Artemis Accords.
The two sides also agreed to advance discussions on cooperation involving open scientific data sharing under the Accords. (ANI)
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