NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced the Indian astronauts will be trained for the International Space Station (ISS) mission as part of efforts to improve US-India space cooperation. ISRO astronauts will start their advanced training in the US after talks between National Security Advisors Ajit Doval and Jake Sullivan.
Nelson brought attention to the initiative on X and said that the collaboration would facilitate future human spaceflight and be beneficial to humanity. Although the details of the mission are still being worked out, he stressed that this relationship is a big deal for space research between the two countries.
While in New Delhi, Sullivan and Doval finalised the Human Spaceflight Cooperation Strategic Framework and spoke about finding a carrier for the NASA-ISRO ISS mission.
To further address global concerns like climate change, the two nations intend to deploy the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite, which will survey the Earth’s surface. Advancements in cooperation in vital minerals, defence space, AI, semiconductors, and telecommunications were part of the larger strategic conversation.
US President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi established the iCET project in May 2022. In the wake of PM Modi’s re-election, Sullivan held his first high-level meeting with Indian officials and business leaders in Delhi.
