Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Chairman G Madhavan Nair on Sunday called for international collaborations between countries for conducting future exploration of the outer space.

Participating at a panel discussion on Space Exploration and the future of human kind at the Bangalore Space and Culture Symposium 2007, Mr Nair said that there was a need to chalk out a road map and initiate a debate for future exploration programmes in the outerspace.

Political pressure
Mr Nair said, many joint programmes with other countries in the past have resulted in bitter experiences, the joint programme with Russia for development of the cryogenic engine for the GSLV programme was stopped due to political pressure.

Similarly, during the SLV-3 programme so much of hue and cry was made regarding the transfer of materials that were required for mundane things, he added.

However, now India iss self reliant with world class space crafts, imaging and communication systems along with few more innovations now for the moon mission, later Mars and beyond, Mr Nair said.

International Astronautical Federation President James Zimmerman, NIAS Director K Kasturirangan who also participated in the discussions also stressed for more collaborations among the countries for robotics and human exploration of the space system.