NEW DELHI, Nov 28 : Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh disclosed during a meeting with a high-level delegation of NASA, the premier USA agency, that the US and India will launch the joint microwave remote sensing satellite for Earth observation, named NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR), in the first quarter of 2019. NASA Chief Administrator Bill Nelson led the delegation. The goal is to launch NISAR onboard the GSLV in India. NISAR data will be very helpful for researching land ecosystems, solid earth deformation, sea ice, coastal oceans, mountains, and polar cryosphere on a regional to global scale.It was reported that NASA/JPL officials were present when ISRO's S-band SAR and NASA's L-band SAR were integrated at JPL/NASA. Currently, integrated L & S band SAR is being tested with the satellite at URSC, Bangalore. Nelson commended Dr. Jitendra Singh for the historic Chandrayaan-3 landing on the uncharted South Polar region of the Moon and urged him to move forward with plans to send India's first astronaut on a NASA rocket to the International Space Station (ISS) as soon as possible.The two countries decided to start a two-week joint India-US space flight next year during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US earlier this year. NASA sees a chance for Indian astronauts in the Private Astronaut Mission in 2024. A Joint Working Group (JWG) on Human Spaceflight Cooperation was established by ISRO and NASA to investigate areas of joint research including radiation impact studies, micro meteorite and orbital debris shield studies, and space health and medicine aspects. In January 2023, the eighth meeting of the India-USA Joint Working Group on Civil Space Cooperation (CSJWG) took place in Washington, DC.Prominent US companies (such as Boeing, Blue Origin, and Voyager) are currently in discussions with ISRO/DoS about specific areas of cooperation. Additionally, joint ventures with Indian commercial entities are being explored. The Indian side disclosed that ISRO and NASA were considering a concept paper on the Implementing Arrangement (IA). A mutually agreed-upon draught was reached after a few rounds of revisions, and it is now being processed for internal government approvals. Additionally, ISRO is investigating the viability of testing the Gaganyaan module's Micrometeoroid and orbital debris (MMOD) protection shields using NASA's Hypervelocity Impact Test (HVIT) facility.According to Dr. Jitendra Singh, India's space sector is experiencing tremendous growth thanks to changes instigated by Prime Minister Modi. As little as four years have passed, there are now over 150 Space StarUps, many of whom have become successful business owners after starting out as just one or two. Nelson, an astronaut who flew on "Columbia" during the 24th Space Shuttle mission in 1986, praised ISRO for having launched 231 US-made satellites using Polar Satellite Launch Vehicles (PSLV). Mr. Nelson expressed his excitement about meeting Indian cosmonaut Rakesh Sharma in Bengaluru the following day. Eric Garcetti, the US ambassador to India, attended the meeting as well.
