NASA invites India to join Moon Base programme

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'.