India is set to join the Artemis Accords and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will join hands with NASA to send a joint mission to the International Space Station (ISS), the White House said on Thursday (June 22).

“On space, we will be able to announce that India is signing the Artemis Accords, which advance a common vision for space exploration for the benefit of all humankind,” a senior administration official said hours before the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden in the Oval Office. The official was quoted by Press Trust of India.

The Artemis Accords bring like-minded countries together on civil space exploration. The Accords are grounded in the Outer Space Treaty (OST) and are a non-binding set of principles designed to guide civil space exploration and use in the 21st century. 

It is a US-led effort to return humans to the moon by 2025. The ultimate goal is of expanding space exploration to Mars and beyond.

The official said that NASA and the ISRO are developing a strategic framework for human spaceflight cooperation this year.

In addition, NASA and ISRO have agreed to a joint mission to the International Space Station in the year 2024, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is currently on his first state visit to the US. Important announcements representing growing cooperation between India and the US are expected during and after PM Modi's visit.

On Thursday, GE Aerospace announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to produce fighter jet engines for Indian Air Force.

GE Aerospace has said that the agreement includes possible joint production of GE Aerospace's F414 engines in India.

The effort is part of the Indian Air Force's Light Combat Aircraft Mk2 programme.

"This is a historic agreement made possible by our longstanding partnership with India and HAL," said H Lawrence Culp, Jr Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GE and CEO of GE Aerospace.

In addition to cooperation in these fields, India and the US have set up a joint quantum coordination mechanism, said the official quoted by PTI. This means that there would be greater cooperation between industry, academia and governments of both countries.

The two countries are working together on 5G and 6G technologies and Open Radio Access Networks (RAN) systems.

(With inputs from agencies)