NASA will train Indian astronaut for trip to the ISS – 11/29/2023 – Science

NASA will train an Indian astronaut for a trip to the International Space Station (ISS) next year, NASA administrator Bill Nelson said on Wednesday (29), with the deepening of space ties between India and the U.S.

“There is an opportunity to share science,” said Nelson, during an event in Bangalore, where he is expected to inspect the Nisar satellite this Thursday (30).

The NASA-ISRO SAR (Nisar) is a low-Earth orbit observatory system developed jointly by NASA and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). Approximately the size of an SUV, the satellite is expected to be launched from India in the first quarter of next year, with an initial target date of January.

Nisar will map the entire planet once every 12 days, providing data to understand changes in ecosystems, ice mass, plant biomass, sea level rise, groundwater and natural hazards including earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes and landslides of land.

India aims to increase its share of the global satellite launch market fivefold over the next decade and agreed to join NASA’s Artemis Agreements in June this year.

The agreements aim to clarify and modernize the principles of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which has been widely ratified, calling for scientific transparency and establishing coordination rules to avoid harmful interference in space and on the Moon.

India won a race to reach the moon’s south pole against Russia in August after the Luna-25 lander suffered an accident while in orbit.