America will send an Indian astronaut to International Space Station by year-end: U.S. envoy

America to send Indian astronaut to ISS by year-end, highlighting NISAR project and potential for US-India collaboration in space.

America will send an Indian astronaut to the International Space Station by the end of the year, U.S. envoy to India Eric Garcetti said on May 22.

He said the NISAR project, a joint Earth-observing mission between U.S. space agency NASA and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), is also likely to be launched by the end of the year.

“We are going to put an Indian astronaut into the International Space Station this year.

“We promised when PM (Narendra) Modi came (to the U.S. 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 said.

The U.S. ambassador was speaking on the sidelines of an event to mark the 248th Independence Day of the United States.

He said both India and the U.S. should look at coordinating research and critical emerging technology so that they can increasingly leverage each other’s strengths.

The diplomat said India landed ‘Chandrayaan 3’ on the Moon last year at a fraction of the cost that the U.S. incurred on a similar lunar mission.