Former NASA official Mike Gold remarked that the relationship between India and the US is critical not only on Earth but also in space. Gold called India a “sleeping giant” for whom the sky is no longer the limit and lauded India’s efforts in space.
India-US Relationship in Space
The former associate administrator for Space Policy and Partnerships at NASA hoped that in the upcoming meeting between Indian PM Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden, cooperation in space would be a major discussion area.
“The relationship between the United States and India is absolutely critical on earth, and possibly even more so in space.” Regarding the relationship with the United States, India is becoming and is already one of the greatest space powers, making the relationship with the US absolutely vital, Gold commented.
“That is an example of how India and the US together can literally save the world with information that these two space powers can bring together,” he added.
Furthermore, he hoped that NASA would cooperate with ISRO in its human space flight mission, and that the International Space Station would become a destination for Indian astronauts. Gold also urged India to join the ARTEMIS accords as it journeys to the moon.
India Leading the Way in Enacting Affordable Space Programs
Mentioning that India will soon become the fourth country to be able to launch its citizens into space, and is a global leader in the field, the Chief Growth Officer of Florida-based Redwire Space said, “Sky is no longer the limit for India.”
Commending India’s efforts in space, he said, “India is going to the moon with a lunar rover, and India is going to the Sun. I think that’s wonderful synergy and balance between both the Sun and a Moon mission that India is conducting.”
Gold lauded Gaganyaan, India’s first crew mission and said that India has been leading the way in enacting space programmes in a fashion that has been very affordable, particularly relative to what occurs in the West.
The former NASA official highlighted that India’s human capital base was helping it to execute these ambitious missions in an affordable, effective, and timely fashion. Gold emphasised, “We should be having discussions now between private sector entities and ISRO in regards to leveraging the new wave of commercial space stations that will eventually succeed the ISS.”
He highlighted that Indian bureaucracy was a roadblock to exploring public-private partnerships in the country, and that reforms to this end are welcome. “And I applaud what Prime Minister Modi and the leadership of ISRO have done to catapult India into the future via the new policies, reforms, and regulations for commercial space,” Gold added.
India Emerging as “Sleeping Giant” in Space Exploration: Former NASA Official
Mike Gold, a former official at NASA, hoped that in the upcoming meeting between Indian PM Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden, critical cooperation in space would be discussed.
June 16, 2023
IMAGE SOURCE: NEW INDIAN EXPRESSVisitors take a selfie with a scale model of the Gaganyaan spacecraft. (Representative image)