BENGALURU: NASAadministrator Bill Nelson will arrive in India for a multi-day visit involving a series of meetings beginning Monday with key government officials. Nelson will also meet with space officials to deepen bilateral cooperation across a broad range of innovation and research-related areas, especially in human exploration and Earth science.
According to NASA, Nelson’s India visit fulfils a commitment through the US-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) spearheaded by President Joe Biden and PM Narendra Modi. As part of enhanced bilateral cooperation in critical areas, India and US earlier this year announced iCETwhich covers several strategic areas including space technology.
Stated objectives of iCET for space include strengthening cooperation on human spaceflight, including establishing exchanges that will include advanced training for an Isro astronaut at NASA Johnson Space Centre.
According to the White House, “…Identifying innovative approaches for commercial sectors of the two countries to collaborate, especially with respect to activities related to NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) project,” is part of iCET.”
The partnership will also see initiation of new STEM talent exchanges by expanding the Professional Engineer and Scientist Exchange Programme (PESEP) to include space science, Earth science, and human spaceflight and extending a standing invitation to Isro to participate in NASA’s biannual international programme management course is another initiative.
Both countries will also strengthen bilateral commercial space partnership, including through a new US Department of Commerce and Indian Department of Space-led initiative under the US-India Civil Space Joint Working Group.
“Expanding the agenda of the US-India Civil Space Joint Working Group to include planetary defence,” is another joint goal, as per the White House.
NISAR Mission
“Nelson will visit several locations in India, including the Bengaluru-based facilities where the NISAR (NASA-Isro Synthetic Aperture Radar) spacecraft, a joint Earth-observing mission, is undergoing testing and integration for launch in 2024,” NASA said.
As the first satellite mission between NASA and Isro, NISAR, it said, was a revolutionary Earth-observing instrument, the first in the Earth System Observatory, that will measure Earth’s changing ecosystems, dynamic surfaces, and ice masses providing information about biomass, natural hazards, sea level rise, and groundwater, key information to guide efforts related to climate change, hazard mitigation, agriculture, and more.
“Students in each country also will have the opportunity to meet with Nelson to discuss science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and their roles as members of the Artemis Generation,” NASA said.
According to NASA, Nelson’s India visit fulfils a commitment through the US-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) spearheaded by President Joe Biden and PM Narendra Modi. As part of enhanced bilateral cooperation in critical areas, India and US earlier this year announced iCETwhich covers several strategic areas including space technology.
Stated objectives of iCET for space include strengthening cooperation on human spaceflight, including establishing exchanges that will include advanced training for an Isro astronaut at NASA Johnson Space Centre.
According to the White House, “…Identifying innovative approaches for commercial sectors of the two countries to collaborate, especially with respect to activities related to NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) project,” is part of iCET.”
The partnership will also see initiation of new STEM talent exchanges by expanding the Professional Engineer and Scientist Exchange Programme (PESEP) to include space science, Earth science, and human spaceflight and extending a standing invitation to Isro to participate in NASA’s biannual international programme management course is another initiative.
Both countries will also strengthen bilateral commercial space partnership, including through a new US Department of Commerce and Indian Department of Space-led initiative under the US-India Civil Space Joint Working Group.
“Expanding the agenda of the US-India Civil Space Joint Working Group to include planetary defence,” is another joint goal, as per the White House.
NISAR Mission
“Nelson will visit several locations in India, including the Bengaluru-based facilities where the NISAR (NASA-Isro Synthetic Aperture Radar) spacecraft, a joint Earth-observing mission, is undergoing testing and integration for launch in 2024,” NASA said.
As the first satellite mission between NASA and Isro, NISAR, it said, was a revolutionary Earth-observing instrument, the first in the Earth System Observatory, that will measure Earth’s changing ecosystems, dynamic surfaces, and ice masses providing information about biomass, natural hazards, sea level rise, and groundwater, key information to guide efforts related to climate change, hazard mitigation, agriculture, and more.
“Students in each country also will have the opportunity to meet with Nelson to discuss science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and their roles as members of the Artemis Generation,” NASA said.
