* Sergio Gor says the US-India space relationship was moving beyond traditional cooperation towards joint development, financing and innovation
The United States wants India to join its efforts to establish a sustained human presence on the Moon, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor said on Monday.
"NASA has officially invited ISRO to join us in the Moon Base Program. Make no mistake, we're going back to the Moon, and we want India by our side on the lunar surface," Gor said at the Bengaluru Space Expo 2026.
Gor said the US-India space relationship was moving beyond traditional cooperation towards joint development, financing and innovation.
"A few weeks ago, at the 9th US-India Civil Space Joint Working Group, right here in Bengaluru, we saw profound transformation taking place," he said. “Those discussions affirmed that our partnership is no longer just about cooperation. It is about co-creation.”
The two countries were increasingly co-designing instruments, co-funding startups and working together on technologies, he said, adding that space had become an important driver of the global economy rather than simply a matter of national prestige.
The US would also expand commercial services in Bengaluru to create a direct commercial corridor between American companies and Indian innovators, Gor said.
He encouraged Indian space startups to pursue opportunities in the US market, saying American investors were watching the country's growing private space sector.
India's space-sector reforms had triggered a "commercial awakening", Gor said, citing companies including Pixxel, GalaxEye, Digantara, Bellatrix Aerospace, Skyroot Aerospace and Agnikul Cosmos as examples of companies developing capabilities in Earth observation, space situational awareness and launch technology.
The ambassador also mentioned cooperation between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation, or ISRO, on the NISAR satellite, saying its radar data had been used to assist emergency responders following a devastating earthquake in Venezuela.
NISAR, a joint NASA-ISRO Earth observation mission, uses radar technology to collect data through cloud cover and darkness.
Gor also pointed to the Axiom-4 mission, during which Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla travelled to the International Space Station last year. The mission included five joint scientific investigations, while the two countries were now examining docking standards, interoperability and astronaut training, he said.
The United States and India were also working together on global rules governing space, including space traffic coordination and discussions around the upcoming World Radiocommunication Conference, Gor said.
"Trust creates capability. Capability creates ambition. And ambition takes us beyond the stratosphere," he said.
The remarks come as India seeks to expand its private space industry and build a larger role in the global commercial space economy, while the United States is strengthening partnerships with allies and strategic partners for its next phase of lunar exploration.
No comments:
Post a Comment