Ambassador Sergio Gor says NASA has invited ISRO to join its Moon base programme, highlights NISAR and Shubhanshu Shukla missions
US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor has said Washington wants India to be a key partner as the United States intensifies its efforts to return humans to the Moon. Speaking at the Bengaluru Space Expo 2026, Gor said NASA has officially invited the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to participate in its Moon base programme.
“India is a proud signatory of the Artemis Accords,” Gor said, adding that the US wants India “by our side” on the lunar surface as the two countries deepen cooperation in space exploration.
Gor pointed to the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission as an example of how joint space technology can have direct benefits on Earth. He said radar data from NISAR helped emergency responders after an earthquake in Venezuela by providing information through dense cloud cover and dust.
The ambassador also highlighted Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla’s mission to the International Space Station, describing it as a landmark moment for India enabled by US partnership. He said the two countries are now exploring areas including docking standards, interoperability and astronaut training.
Gor further invited Indian space startups to explore the US market, naming Pixxel, GalaxEye, Digantara, Bellatrix, Skyroot and Agnikul among companies with opportunities to expand internationally.
He said India and the US are also working on global norms for space governance, including space-traffic coordination and international radiocommunication standards. Gor described the partnership as one capable of creating a larger global space economy and reiterated the call for the two countries to “return to the Moon together”.
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