India and the United States have agreed to step up their cooperation in space exploration activities, including future missions to the moon and Mars.
A just-concluded meeting of the US-India Civil Space Joint Working Group here also agreed to expand tie-ups in the use of their earth observation satellite data for improved weather and monsoon forecasting, disaster management and response, and improved agricultural and natural resource use.
“Building on NASA’s collaboration in India’s highly successful Chandrayaan-1 lunar mission in 2008, NASA and ISRO agreed to explore further cooperative space exploration work, including future missions to the moon and Mars,” said the joint statement.
As part of this effort, the two sides will continue discussions in planetary science and Heliophysics to identify areas of further cooperation.
The chairs of the Joint Working Group, from the Department of State and NASA on the US side and the ISRO on the Indian side, expressed their satisfaction at the strengthening relationship between the two countries in civil space activities.
Through expanded cooperation between their technical agencies that operate earth observing satellites, the two sides agreed on a number of measures that will improve the use of this data to promote sustainable development.
At the meeting, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden highlighted the growth of US-India cooperation on a range of cutting edge projects from deep space exploration to the use of Earth observing satellites to promote sustainable development.
Indian Ambassador Nirupama Rao said the ongoing dialogue should pave the way for enhanced space applications for societal benefits.
The joint statement noted that continued progress is being made in promoting compatibility and interoperability between the US Global Positioning System and the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System.