WASHINGTON — The European Space Agency, impressed with India’s growing space capabilities, is exploring opportunities for enhanced cooperation in space activities.
At a March 27 media briefing after a meeting of the ESA Council, Renato Krpoun, chair of the council, said that ESA members received a presentation during the meeting from S. Somanath, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
Somanath “presented a very impressive vision of the future of the Indian space program,” Krpoun said.
Josef Aschbacher, director general of ESA, said later in the briefing that Somanath’s presentation provided an update on recent activities by ISRO. “It has opened our eyes, first of all, to what is happening in India,” he said.
He said that in late 2022, he discussed with Somanath how the two agencies could “intensify their cooperation on a number of domains” in space activities. “We agreed this is something that we should investigate further.”
That investigation has included a week-long visit by an ESA delegation to India to discuss options in science, exploration and operations. “At the moment we are in a fact-finding mission,” he said. He didn’t elaborate on specific cooperative missions or programs being considered or their schedules, other than that any plans that do advance and require funding from ESA member states would be included in the package of proposals for the next ministerial conference in late 2025.
“This is an ongoing exercise, but certainly the spirit is very positive,” he concluded. “There is an interest on both sides to…
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