National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has invited the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to be part of its Moon Base programme.
What Happened
At the ninth meeting of the India-U.S. Civil Space Joint Working Group (CSJWG), held in Bengaluru recently, the formal invitation for India to join the programme was made by the U.S. space agency. “NASA invited ISRO to join its Moon Base program, building on the two countries’ partnership under the Artemis Accords. Embassy and Consulates in India. The programme will be executed in three phases. They reaffirmed their commitment to advancing the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) guidelines on the long-term sustainability of outer space activities, as well as reviewed ongoing multilateral efforts for ensuring the Committee’s effectiveness,” the statement added. “NASA has invited ISRO to join its Moon Base program, deepening the U.S.-India deep space partnership! A key outcome of the discussions was NASA’s invitation to ISRO to join its Moon Base programme, reflecting growing collaboration between the two countries in lunar exploration. The discussions also focused on the long-term sustainability of activities in outer space. Both countries reaffirmed their commitment to the guidelines developed by the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS). They also reviewed ongoing multilateral efforts to promote responsible behaviour in space and strengthen the effectiveness of global space governance mechanisms.
The meeting, held at ISRO headquarters, also advanced civil and commercial space cooperation under the U.S.-India Transforming the Relationship Utilizing Strategic Technology (TRUST) Initiative, aligning with the February 2025 Joint Leaders’ Statement issued by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump.
The two sides also agreed to advance discussions for cooperation on open scientific data sharing under the Accords,” said a statement from the U.S. The programme envisages building humanity’s first outpost on another celestial body near the lunar South Pole, according to NASA. It was announced during NASA’s “Ignition” event on March 24, 2026, where the agency unveiled a series of initiatives to achieve President Donald Trump’s National Space Policy and advance American leadership in space. The news came as StateDept and NASA co-chaired the 9th Civil Space Joint Working Group in Bengaluru, advancing the initiative,” he said in a post on social media platform X. Officials said India and the US are now looking to build on the success of NISAR by exploring more joint space missions and collaborative initiatives in space technology.
“Both sides discussed expanding cooperation following the successful launch of the joint NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission last year, as well as pursuing future science and human spaceflight technology collaborations.
What Happens Next
In a move to step up space collaboration between India and the United States, NASA has officially invited ISRO to join its upcoming Moon Base project, covering everything from human spaceflight and lunar exploration to scientific research and commercial ventures. Held at ISRO’s headquarters, the two-day meeting brought together key representatives from ISRO, NASA, and the US State Department to review current joint missions and map out the next phase of India-US space ties. The talks come on the heels of the successful launch of the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission, a landmark joint project aimed at monitoring changes on Earth’s surface and supporting scientific research related to natural hazards, ecosystems and environmental changes.
