Embassy of India
Shiv Shankar Mukherjee
Minister (Press, Information & Culture)
Washington, DC
December 16, 1997
INDIA SIGN MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING
FOR SPACE COOPERATION WITH USA
Department of Space (DOS) and Department of Science and
Technology (DST) of India today (December 16,1997) signed, in Washington,
a memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) and National Oceanographic and Atmosphere Administration
(NOAA) of USA for scientific cooperation in the areas of earth and atmospheric
sciences. Dr. K. Kasturirangan, Secretary, Department of Space and
Prof. V.S. Ramamurthy, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology
signed the MOU on behalf of India and Mr. Daniel Goldin, Administrator,
NASA and Dr. D. James Baker, Administrator, NOAA, signed the MOU on behalf
of the USA in the presence of Ambassador of India to the US, Mr. Naresh
Chandra. The MOU envisages exchange of data received from the Very
High Resolution Radiometer (VHRR) of India's INSAT satellites and the data
received from the US research and operation satellite systems including
Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES). Cooperation
in the analysis of the satellite data, meteorological modeling and forecasting
techniques including those related to monsoons and cyclones is also covered
under the MOU.
MOU on Data Reception from IRS-P3 Satellite
Another MOU was signed by ISRO with NASA, which provides
for the reception of data, by the US from the Modular Opto-electronic Scanner
on board the Indian Remote Sensing Satellite, IRS-P3. MOS is an 18-channel
spectrometer developed by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). It was
flown as one of the payloads on board IRS-P3 launched by PSLV-D3 on March
21,1996 as part of the cooperation between ISRO and DLR (besides
MOS, IRS-P3 carries a Wide Filed Sensor and an X-ray astronomy payload).
The MOU is jointly entered into by ISRO, NASA and the German Aerospace
Center DLR. The tripartite MOU also envisages further cooperation
among the scientists of the three countries in analyzing the data for measurement
and better understanding of the ocean and atmosphere parameters from space.