World

NASA administrator to travel to India to meet with officials and scientists

Beginning Monday, NASA administrator Bill Nelson will travel to India and the United Arab Emirates for a series of meetings with senior government leaders.

Nelson will also meet with space officials from both countries to enhance bilateral cooperation in a wide variety of innovation and research-related sectors, particularly human exploration and Earth science, according to a release from the American space agency NASA.

Nelson’s journey to India will fulfill a pledge made as part of President Joe Biden’s US-India partnership on ‘Critical and Emerging Technology’.

Nelson will go to numerous places in India, including the Bengaluru-based facility where the NISAR spacecraft, a cooperative Earth-observing mission between NASA and its Indian partner ISRO, is being tested and integrated in preparation for launch in 2024.

NISAR is an abbreviation for NASA ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar.

NISAR is a revolutionary Earth-observing instrument, the first in the Earth System Observatory, that will measure Earth’s changing ecosystems, dynamic surfaces, and ice masses, providing information about biomass, natural hazards, sea level rise, and groundwater, critical information to guide efforts related to climate change, hazard mitigation, agriculture, and more.

NISAR is a joint venture between NASA and ISRO, and it is the first time the two organizations have worked together on hardware development for an Earth-observing mission.

The satellite’s cylindrical radar sensor payload, about the size of an SUV and partially coated in gold-colored thermal blanketing, has two radar systems.

Laurie Leshin, director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), recently said that scientists from both space agencies — ISRO and NASA — are collaborating on the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission to make the most of the data that will be transmitted from the spacecraft.

Leshin went on to say, “We are so excited to be working between NASA and ISRO on NISAR, which is a radar machine to looks at the surface of the earth and how it is changing. In India, they are interested in understanding how the mangrove environment at the coasts is changing”.

“We will understand how ice sheets are changing and how earthquakes and volcanoes are happening all over the world…There are many different aspects to understanding our earth better”, Leshin added.

Nelson will also attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2023 while in the UAE. The conference will be attended for the first time by a NASA administrator.

Additionally, during the tour, students from each country will have the opportunity to meet with Nelson to discuss STEM education and their roles as members of the Artemis Generation.

Also read: China claims US Navy destroyer entered Its waters without permission

Spriha Rai

Recent Posts

Hina Khan Hails 11 Years Of PM Modi’s Leadership; Highlights National Progress

As the nation marks 11 years under PM Modi's leadership, actress Hina Khan shares her…

6 hours ago

Subhash Ghai Hails PM Modi’s Transformative Vision For India

Subhash Ghai has praised PM Narendra Modi’s leadership for catalysing India’s growth and changing the…

6 hours ago

India & Central Asia Boost Rare Earth Cooperation At Delhi Meet

India and five Central Asian nations have agreed to deepen cooperation on rare earths and…

7 hours ago

PM Modi’s Beej Se Bazaar Tak Vision Reshapes Indian Agriculture

Prime Minister Modi has redefined Indian agriculture with the ‘Beej Se Bazaar Tak’ vision, transforming…

7 hours ago

EV Sales Cross 4% Mark In May; Signalling Steady Shift To Green Mobility

EV sales topped 4% of passenger vehicle retail in May 2025, signalling growing demand for…

8 hours ago

Self-Reliant Defence Industry Marks India’s Strategic Security Ascent

One year into Modi 3.0, reforms have reduced poverty, strengthened defence, and accelerated the digital…

8 hours ago