NASA invites ISRO to join Moon Base programme for first outpost at lunar South Pole

NASA has formally invited the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to join its Moon Base programme, which envisages building humanity's first outpost on another celestial body, near the Moon's South Pole. The invitation was extended at the ninth meeting of the India-U.S. Civil Space Joint Working Group (CSJWG), held at ISRO headquarters in Bengaluru on August 5 and 6.

"NASA invited ISRO to join its Moon Base program, building on the two countries' partnership under the Artemis Accords," a statement from the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in India said. The two sides also agreed to advance discussions on cooperation in open scientific data sharing under the Accords.

The programme, announced at NASA's "Ignition" event on March 24, 2026, is to be executed in three phases. NASA describes it as a first-of-its-kind lunar outpost programme, in which astronauts will make the Moon's south pole a home from where they will live, work and conduct scientific activities over the next decade and beyond. To build the outpost, NASA and its partners will fly a series of crewed and uncrewed missions.

The two agencies also discussed expanding cooperation following last year's successful launch of NISAR, the joint NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar Earth-observation mission, and pursuing future collaborations in science and human spaceflight technology. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) guidelines on the long-term sustainability of outer space activities. ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan, U.S. Ambassador Sergio Gor and senior officials from both countries attended the meeting.