# NASA invites India to join Moon Base programme 2026-08-15T22:44:15+00:00 | World & Diplomacy | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets NASA has invited the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to participate in its 'Moon Base' programme, a plan to build a permanent human outpost near the lunar south pole by around 2030. The invitation was extended at the ninth India-U.S. Civil Space Joint Working Group meeting at ISRO headquarters last week, under the Artemis Accords partnership. The Hindu reports that the base is the next phase of the revised Artemis programme, which now aims for a crewed lunar landing in 2028. The Times of India notes that while India's capabilities, including Chandrayaan-3's south pole landing, are relevant, there is no concrete role defined yet. The invitation is an opening for negotiations on potential contributions such as surface science, robotics, or resource mapping. Meanwhile, China and Russia are building a rival 'International Lunar Research Station' (ILRS) near the south pole, targeting 2035. The Hindu adds that NASA's budget request frames the Moon Base as a means to establish U.S. 'superiority on the Moon'. ## Coverage - thehindu.com - timesofindia.indiatimes.com This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-08-16T14:11:20+00:00. Tags: Artemis Accords, China, ILRS, ISRO, Moon Base, NASA Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/nasa-invites-isro-to-join-moon-base-programme-near-south-pole/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/nasa-invites-isro-to-join-moon-base-programme-near-south-pole/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/