Bengaluru: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced on Saturday that it had signed an agreement with the European Space Agency (ESA) to collaborate on astronaut training, mission implementation, and research experiments. The agreement was signed by Dr S Somanath, ISRO Chairman and Secretary of the Department of Space (DOS), and Dr Josef Aschbacher, ESA Director General.

According to ISRO, the agreement establishes a framework for cooperative efforts in human space exploration and research, particularly in areas such as astronaut training, support for experiment development and integration using ESA’s facilities on the International Space Station (ISS), human and biomedical research experiment implementation, as well as joint education and outreach initiatives, PTI reported.

For the upcoming Axiom-4 mission, which will feature ISRO’s Gaganyatri and ESA’s astronaut as crew members, both agencies are working together to implement experiments proposed by Indian Principal Investigators aboard the ISS. Additionally, ISRO and ESA are collaborating on human physiological studies, technology demonstration experiments, and joint educational outreach activities, the statement added.

In his remarks, Somanath emphasised that ISRO has laid out a roadmap for human spaceflight activities. He noted that the recent approval of the Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS), India's proposed indigenous space station, presents an opportunity to develop interoperability between human spaceflight platforms.

Dr Aschbacher thanked Dr Somanath for his address at the ESA Council and commented that the agreement lays a solid foundation for future cooperation between the two agencies.

The leadership of both organisations expressed satisfaction with the progress of joint activities for the upcoming Axiom-4 mission and reiterated the importance of continuing collaborative efforts in the field of human spaceflight in the future, ISRO concluded.

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