The invitation was extended during the ninth meeting of the India-US Civil Space Joint Working Group (CSJWG), hosted by India at ISRO headquarters in Bengaluru on August 5-6.
The proposed cooperation would build on the two countries’ existing partnership under the Artemis Accords. India and the US also agreed to advance discussions on sharing open scientific data under the framework.
ISRO Chairman and Department of Space Secretary V Narayanan and US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor addressed the opening session of the meeting, highlighting the need to further strengthen bilateral cooperation in space.
The meeting was co-chaired by UR Rao Satellite Centre Director M Sankaran from the Indian side and US Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Wesley Brooks and NASA Associate Administrator for International and Interagency Relations Kathleen Karika from the US side.
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India, US look beyond NISAR
The two countries discussed expanding their partnership following the successful launch of the joint NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission last year.
The talks also covered potential future cooperation in scientific missions and human spaceflight technologies.
The meeting sought to advance civil and commercial space cooperation under the US-India Transforming the Relationship Utilizing Strategic Technology (TRUST) initiative, in line with the joint statement issued by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump in February 2025.The latest discussions signal an effort by the two countries to broaden their space partnership beyond individual missions and into areas including lunar exploration, human spaceflight and scientific data sharing.
Cooperation on sustainable use of space
India and the US also reaffirmed their commitment to advancing guidelines framed by the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) for the long-term sustainability of space activities.
The two sides reviewed ongoing multilateral efforts aimed at ensuring the effectiveness of the UN committee as space activity expands globally.
The Civil Space Joint Working Group serves as a bilateral mechanism for India and the US to discuss cooperation across civil space exploration, science and related technologies.