All Systems “Go” for U.S.-India Space Cooperation

Chandrayaan I Lift Off Heralds India’s First Mission to the Moon

February 1, 2008 – Washington, D.C. – The countdown has begun to “lift off” for India’s first mission to the moon. President Bush’s vision for partnership with India in space exploration will get a major boost in April 2008 when India’s first unmanned lunar mission, Chandrayaan I, launches from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Significantly, Chandrayaan I will carry - for the first time in the history of both countries - a payload atop an Indian rocket that includes two critical NASA instruments to map the moon.

“That the United States and India are cooperating at this level of space exploration marks the beginning of a whole new era of trust and partnership. The Chandrayaan lunar mission will lead to exciting scientific advances,” Ron Somers, President of the U.S.- India Business Council (USIBC), said in Washington at a robust gathering of American businessmen and governmental officials honoring Mr. G. Madhavan Nair, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).

“The strides that the U.S. and India can make together as partners in space will advance tele-medicine, tele-education, and disaster preparedness/management. Chandrayaan I signifies the best example of technological excellence. Indian scientists deserve our heartiest congratulations,” Somers said. ISRO’s Chairman was in Washington for talks with U.S. government officials, including NASA Administrator Michael Griffin, to coordinate final details of the Chandrayaan I lunar mission, scheduled for late April.

It may be recalled that on January 12, 2004 – just four years ago – the Next Steps in Strategic Partnership (NSSP) was announced by U.S. President George W. Bush and then-Prime Minister Atul Bihari Vajpayee. The NSSP Initiative called for cooperation between the United States in High Technology, in Civilian Nuclear Activities, and in Civilian Space programs. The Chandrayaan I lunar mission – India’s first-ever Mission to the Moon – is the fructification of this vision.

ISRO Chairman, G. Madhavan Nair, complimented the excellent relationship emerging between the Indian space program – the fifth largest in the world – and NASA. “The cooperation between the U.S. and India supporting the Chandrayaan I Mission is just a sample of what can be accomplished together as partners,” Chairman Nair said to the over-flow luncheon audience attended by corporate heads and U.S. government officials at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, DC.

The Chandrayaan I mission to the moon will carry two NASA payloads - a Miniature Synthetic Aperture Radar to map ice deposits in the moon's surface and a Moon Mineralogy Mapper to assess mineral resources of the Moon. Chandrayaan I represents the first time U.S. instruments have been included aboard an Indian space vehicle. “Thinking back to Apollo 11 in July 1969 when all eyes were on the black and white images of Neil Armstrong setting foot on the moon, the Chandrayaan I Mission marks an historic first in terms of Indo-U.S. space cooperation,” USIBC’s President said.

The U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC), (www.usibc.com) formed in 1975 at the request of the Government of India and the U.S. Government, is the premier business advocacy organization representing 260 of the largest U.S. companies investing in India, joined by two dozen of India's largest global companies. USIBC’s mandate is to deepen U.S.-India commercial ties. The U.S.-India Business Council celebrates its 33rd Anniversary “Global Partnership” Summit this year in Washington, D.C. on June 12, 2008.