New Delhi, June 23 (FN Agency) Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology Dr Jitendra Singh on Friday said that the agreement signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s historic US visit between India and the US on cooperation in Space Research will take our bilateral relations to a new high. Briefing the media about several significant decisions and agreements, he said, signing of “Artemis Accord ‘ and Joint Indo-US mission to the International Space Station in 2024 are significant steps to make India self-reliant in the space sector. “Could anything give us greater pride than to realise that the country like the USA which landed the first human being on the surface of the Moon when we were singing nursery rhymes about the Moon, is today seeking our inputs and our expertise on the Moon mission,” he said.
Explaining to the media, the Minister said, the purpose of the Artemis Accord is a common vision with USA and other countries via principles, guidelines and best practices so that we could supplement each other’s activities for peaceful purposes with transparency and also work together for avoiding harmful activities. On the joint mission to the International Space Station, Dr Singh said, “India -US will develop a framework for joint mission to the International Space Station in 2024, which the USA envisages as a possibility for closer cooperation between the space agencies of the two countries to get closer to the realities of Moon and subsequently to Mars and other planets”. He informed that on Semiconductors, Micron will invest 800 Million dollars with additional financial support from the Indian government. Similarly, the US Quantum Consortium has welcomed and invited the Indian Quantum industry as its members.
Dr Singh said India will contribute to the International Space Station next year as part of the India-US collaboration in the Space Science field. US President Joe Biden has already confirmed this in the White House after a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday. Dr Singh said ISRO is likely to team up with NASA as it plans to return to the moon with a manned mission by 2025. “The joint statement by India and the United States during PM Modi’s ongoing visit said NASA would provide “advanced training” to Indian astronauts at one of its facilities,” he said. Dr Singh said the ISRO has earned considerable foreign exchange by launching satellites for global clients. ISRO, in association with its commercial arms, has successfully launched 385 foreign satellites from 34 countries on board PSLV. “Almost 90% of this revenue has been generated in the last nine years,” he said. Dr Singh said, as per the Artemis Accord, India can participate in the US led Artemis programme for exploration of moon and other celestial objects under common protocols. The Artemis Accord was signed on October 13, 2020 by eight Founder Nations, – Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, UAE, UK and the United States. The Artemis Accord is a non-binding agreement with no financial commitments. The purpose of these Accords is to establish a common vision via a practical set of principles, guidelines, and best practices to enhance the governance of the civil exploration and use of outer space with intention of advancing the Artemis program.