US will send Indian astronaut to International Space Station by end of 2024: Ambasaddor Garcetti

US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti said that America will send an Indian astronaut to the International Space Station by the end of this year as promised to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Aishwarya Nair

First Published May 23, 2024, 10:30 AM IST | Last Updated May 23, 2024, 10:30 AM IST

By the end of this year, America will send an Indian astronaut to the International Space Station, according to US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti. The ambassador said on Wednesday that the NISAR project, a cooperative Earth-observing mission between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the US space agency NASA, is also probably going to launch by the end of the year.

"We are going to put an Indian astronaut into the International Space Station this year," he said.

"We promised when PM (Narendra) Modi came (to the US in 2023) that by the end of this year, we will do this and our mission is still on track to be able to go in space this year," he added.

The US ambassador made his remarks on the sidelines of an event celebrating the 248th Independence Day of the United States.

He stated that both India and the US should coordinate their research and critical emerging technology efforts to leverage each other's strengths more effectively. The diplomat noted that India successfully landed 'Chandrayaan 3' on the Moon last year at a fraction of the cost that the US incurred on a similar lunar mission.

"The US has some capacities that India still doesn't have today. When the two are combined, both countries have those capacities," he said.

Regarding civilian nuclear energy, Garcetti mentioned that after elections, the Indian government could address outstanding liability issues and proceed forward "arm in arm and hand in hand".

Two sites in India, Mithi Virdhi in Gujarat and Kovadda in Andhra Pradesh have been designated for US companies to construct nuclear reactors.

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