Archive · 12 Aug 2026
NASA Invites ISRO to Join Moon Base Programme
NASA, the American space agency, has asked India's space agency ISRO to help build a base on the Moon.
It would be humanity's first place where astronauts can live and work on another world.
The base will be built near the Moon's South Pole, about 400,000 km from Earth.
That area may hold water ice, which people could drink and turn into rocket fuel.
America landed the first astronauts on the Moon in 1969, and India landed a robot near the South Pole in 2023.
NASA will build the base step by step: robots explore first, then power and supplies arrive, and finally astronauts move in, possibly after 2032.
NASA is already working with private space companies on the landers, rovers and other equipment the base will need.
India is also working on sending its own astronauts to space with the Gaganyaan programme.
Meanwhile, China is building its own Moon research station with Russia, so countries are choosing which teams to join.
NASA has formally invited India's ISRO to join its Moon Base programme, which aims to build humanity's first sustained outpost near the lunar South Pole, about 400,000 km from Earth.
The invitation was extended at the 9th India-US Civil Space Joint Working Group meeting at ISRO Headquarters in Bengaluru on August 5-6, attended by ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan and US Ambassador Sergio Gor.
Announced in March 2026 under NASA's 'Ignition' initiative, the programme follows a phased build-up: robotic exploration through 2029, infrastructure from 2029-2032, and a permanent outpost beyond 2032.
ISRO would contribute Chandrayaan-3 South Pole landing expertise, cost-efficient engineering, scientific instruments and joint missions such as NISAR and Axiom-4, plus growing Gaganyaan human-spaceflight capability.
The South Pole's water ice could provide drinking water and liquid hydrogen/oxygen rocket fuel, while China and Russia pursue the rival International Lunar Research Station by 2035.
- Who
- NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO); meeting officials included ISRO Chairman Dr. V. Narayanan, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, Dr. Wesley Brooks and Kathleen Karika.
- What
- NASA formally invited ISRO to join its Moon Base programme to establish a sustained human presence near the lunar South Pole.
- When
- August 2026; the invitation was extended at the 9th India-US Civil Space Joint Working Group meeting held August 5-6.
- Where
- ISRO Headquarters in Bengaluru, India; the planned base would sit near the lunar South Pole, about 400,000 km from Earth.
- Why
- To build humanity's first enduring lunar outpost, use water ice resources for drinking water and rocket fuel, advance science, and prepare for future journeys deeper into the solar system, amid US-China competition in lunar exploration.
US-led Artemis framework
China-Russia ILRS vision
Competing lunar outposts
US-led Artemis framework
NASA's Moon Base programme, part of the US-led Artemis framework, aims to establish humanity's first sustained outpost near the lunar South Pole with commercial companies and international partners, including India.
China-Russia ILRS vision
China and Russia are building the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) at the lunar South Pole by 2035 as a permanent robotic and human research base, and several countries have already joined the Chinese-led initiative.
India's choice of partnerships
US-led Artemis framework
Joining the Moon Base effort gives India access to advanced technologies, human-spaceflight experience, and a seat at the table as rules and practices for lunar activity are developed under the Artemis Accords, which India signed in 2023.
China-Russia ILRS vision
India is neither a traditional US space ally nor an ILRS participant, and with China also targeting a crewed lunar landing by 2030 and its own South Pole missions such as Chang'e-7, India's choice of partnerships carries strategic consequences.
- Programme
- NASA Moon Base programme, announced March 2026 under the "Ignition" initiative
- Planned location
- Near the lunar South Pole, about 400,000 km from Earth
- Invitation venue
- 9th India-US Civil Space Joint Working Group meeting, ISRO Headquarters, Bengaluru, August 5-6
- Key officials
- ISRO Chairman Dr. V. Narayanan and US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor
- Build-up timeline
- Robotic exploration until 2029; infrastructure 2029-2032; permanent outpost beyond 2032
- Key resource
- Water ice in permanently shadowed regions; convertible to drinking water and liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen rocket fuel
- Strategic backdrop
- TRUST Initiative launched by PM Modi and President Trump in February 2025, covering space among critical and emerging technologies
- Competing outpost
- China-Russia International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), targeted for 2035; China also targets a crewed lunar landing by 2030
