Euro Space Agency, ISRO ink pact for moon missions

The European Space Agency (ESA) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have signed a joint Statement of Intent on cooperation for human space exploration focusing on low Earth orbit, and in a secondary stage, on the Moon.

The statement builds on previous agreements enabling the two agencies to advance sustainable and responsible exploration, and on recent experience working together on mission implementation for the Axiom Ax-4 commercial mission.

ESA said that future cooperation possibilities include ESA astronaut flight opportunities to the planned Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS) and early scientific utilisation, as well as developing infrastructure in low Earth orbit.

The two space agencies are also discussing alignment on payloads and robotic scientific missions to the Moon. Such activities would be governed by specific agreements to be established.

According to the joint statement, ESA and ISRO have declared their intent to work together on the interoperability of rendezvous and docking systems to allow their respective spacecraft to work together in low Earth orbit.

The space agencies will also examine further activities related to astronaut training, analogue space missions -– where teams test aspects of space missions in ground-based simulations -– and parabolic flight activities.