US-India Ties More Critical For Space Exploration, India A "Sleeping Giant" In The Field: Former NASA Official

Mike Gold, a former associate administrator for Space Policy and Partnerships at NASA, has emphasised the significance of India-US relations not only on Earth but also in space, and described India as a "sleeping giant."

“The relationship between the United States and India is absolutely critical on Earth, and possibly even more so in space. India will soon become the fourth country to be able to launch its citizens into space and is, therefore, a global leader in the field,” said Gold, who is currently Chief Growth Officer of Florida-based Redwire Space.

“Sky is no longer the limit for India,” he told PTI on 15 June.

Gold hopes that space cooperation will be a core agenda item when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden meet at the White House next week.

Gold is said to be an architect of the NASA Artemis Accords, a critical set of agreements that provide guidelines for responsible exploration on the Moon.

“India is going to the Moon with a lunar rover, and India is going to the Sun. I think that's wonderful synergy and balance between both the Sun and a Moon mission that India is conducting.

"And of course, the Gaganyaan mission, the first crew mission that it's conducting. India has also been extraordinarily innovative relative to implementing these very ambitious space programmes at affordable and low costs,” Gold said.

In the age of commercial space exploration, the mere execution of programmes is not enough.

Gold emphasises that it is paramount to do so in an affordable, robust, and successful manner. India has been leading the way in this respect, particularly in terms of government-led initiatives.

The country has enacted these ambitious programmes in a very cost-effective way, which is a noteworthy feat, according to Gold.

India's incredible human capital is the driving force behind the country's success in space exploration, highlighted Gold, who believes that it is people, not rocket fuel, that gets missions to space.

India has become one of the leading space powers in the world, a fact that highlights the importance of its relations with the US, for Gold.

Collaboration between India and the US has resulted in the development of the NISAR project, aimed at gathering critical climate data about the Earth.

That is an example of how the world can be literally saved with information that these two space powers can bring together, he said.

“As India moves forward into crew operations, that's where I hope we can build upon the foundation of collaborations like NISAR in the scientific field to build broad and deep relationships.

"In human space flight, I hope that NASA can cooperate and coordinate with ISRO as much as possible to support India's human space flight goals in the US generally,” Gold said.

Gold also expressed his hope to have the International Space Station become the destination for Indian astronauts.

"As we look at where the Indian and US relationship will evolve, it can begin with partnerships with NASA and what's occurring with the ISS, but in parallel to that, we should be having discussions now between private sector entities and ISRO in regards to leveraging the new wave of commercial space stations that will eventually succeed the ISS,” he said.

The former NASA official hopes that India will join the Artemis Accords.

India's participation in the Artemis Accords is vital as it is already a lunar country, he said. The agreement's fundamental objective is to strengthen the peaceful and prosperous progress of space exploration.

“I believe that India is a sleeping giant when it comes to commercial space. You have amazing amounts of human capital, of manufacturing capacity that when applied to commercial space could be transformative, not just for India, but for the entire commercial space sector,” Gold said.

Gold's Redwire Space is currently engaged in discussions with an Indian company for potential partnerships in manufacturing in India.

Gold expressed his admiration for the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the leadership of ISRO.

He commended their ability to usher India into the future through their implementation of new policies, reforms, and regulations for commercial space.

It is their work that has inspired excitement for the future of the private sector in America as well, he said.