India and the US advanced civil and commercial space cooperation, with NASA inviting ISRO to join its Moon Base programme and discussions expanding to human spaceflight.
India and the United States have advanced discussions on civil and commercial space cooperation, with NASA inviting ISRO to join its Moon Base programme as both countries explore deeper collaboration in science and human spaceflight.
The discussions took place during the 9th India-US Civil Space Joint Working Group meeting, held at the Indian Space Research Organisation's headquarters in Bengaluru on August 5 and 6.
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ISRO Chairman V Narayanan and US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor addressed the opening session, highlighting the importance of strengthening bilateral cooperation in space.
The meeting focused on expanding civil and commercial space cooperation under the Transforming the Relationship Utilizing Strategic Technology (TRUST) Initiative.
NASA invites ISRO to Moon Base programme
A key development was NASA's invitation to ISRO to participate in its Moon Base programme.
The proposal builds on the two countries' cooperation under the Artemis Accords. India and the US also agreed to continue discussions on cooperation involving open scientific data sharing under the framework.
The two sides discussed expanding cooperation following the successful launch of the joint NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission.
They also explored future partnerships in space science and human spaceflight technologies, potentially widening the scope of collaboration beyond Earth-observation missions.
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Focus on sustainable space activities
India and the US reaffirmed their commitment to advancing guidelines under the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space on the long-term sustainability of space activities.
They also reviewed ongoing multilateral efforts aimed at strengthening the effectiveness of the committee.
The latest discussions indicate that India-US space cooperation is moving beyond individual missions towards longer-term scientific, commercial and human-spaceflight partnerships. NASA's invitation to ISRO for the Moon Base programme could further expand India's role in international lunar exploration while building on cooperation established through the Artemis Accords and NISAR.
Published: 11 Aug 2026, 02:34 pm IST
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