Bengaluru: NASA’s participation in India’s proposal for a G-20 satellite for environment and climate change was among the discussion points during a visit by the US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti to the Isro headquarters here on Friday.
Garcetti met ISRO Chairman S Somanath and discussed the ongoing cooperation between India and the United States in the field of space.
An advanced imaging spectrometer satellite as a follow-up mission for the NASA ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR), encouragement of cooperation between commercial companies from both countries, and the potential of the Gaganyaan cargo module in transferring cargo to the International Space Station featured in the discussions. The US Ambassador also proposed a QUAD satellite, ISRO said.
Somanath underlined collaborative efforts to build a navigation system on the moon, either in orbit or on the surface.
Future programmes, including exchange visits of professionals and ISRO’s plans to source payloads and satellites from Indian companies and enable them to enter the global market, were discussed during the visit.
The ISRO chairman noted that for the first time, payload technology and space-bound hardware were being built in Indian facilities outside of ISRO labs.
Speaking at the US-India Commercial Space Cooperation Conference, Garcetti said efforts were on to open the proposed US Consulate in Bengaluru.
He noted that sometimes, it takes five to 10 years to open consulates, but work was progressing toward establishing one in the city in the coming year.
The announcement of two new US consulates, in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad, were made during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US in June 2023.
Published 24 May 2024, 19:48 IST