India-US intends to send Indian astronaut to International Space Station next year

• India and the US said they have started talks to put in place a strategic framework for human space flight by year-end as they plan to send an Indian astronaut to the International Space Station in 2024.
• United States President Joe Biden congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the historic landing of Chandrayaan-3 at the south polar region of the Moon.

Bangalore, September 10. India and the US in a Joint Statement released on September 9, said they have started talks to put in place a strategic framework for human space flight by year-end as they plan to send an Indian astronaut to the International Space Station in 2024.

US President Joe Biden also congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the historic landing of Chandrayaan-3 at the south polar region of the Moon and the success of Aditya-L1 solar mission.

“Determined to deepen our partnership in outer space exploration, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), have commenced discussions on modalities, capacity building, and training for mounting a joint effort to the International Space Station in 2024, and are continuing efforts to finalise a strategic framework for human space flight cooperation by the end of 2023,” said a joint statement issued after the 52-minute talks between the two leaders.

During Modi’s visit to the US in June, Biden had announced India and the US were collaborating to send an astronaut to the international space station in 2024.

Last evening, Biden drove to Modi’s official residence at the Lok Kalyan Marg soon after his arrival at the airport in New Delhi.

“India and the United States also intend to increase coordination on planetary defence to protect planet Earth and space assets from the impact of asteroids and near-Earth objects, including US support for India’s participation in asteroid detection and tracking via the Minor Planet Center,” the joint statement said.

“Having set a course to reach new frontiers across all sectors of space cooperation, the leaders welcomed efforts towards establishment of a Working Group for commercial space collaboration under the existing India-US Civil Space Joint Working Group,” the joint statement said.

PM Modi also said that India had signed the Artemis Accords and taken a great leap forward.

“We decided to join the Artemis Accords. We have taken a giant leap in our space cooperation. In short, I would say even the sky is not the limit for cooperation with the US,” PM Modi said.

Grounded in the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 (OST), the Artemis Accords are a non-binding set of principles designed to guide civil space exploration and use in the 21st century. It is an American-led effort to return humans to the moon by 2025, with the ultimate goal of expanding space exploration to Mars and beyond.

India is planning to send its maiden human space flight – Gaganyaan – into a low earth orbit by the end of 2024 or early 2025.

If an Indian astronaut travels to the international space station, it could be before the Gaganyaan project.

Earlier, a senior White House official said that NASA and the ISRO were developing a strategic framework for human spaceflight cooperation this year.