India prioritises autonomy, rule‑setting role before deeper US space ties: Report

New Delhi: India has responded cautiously to a US invitation to help build a permanent NASA base on the Moon, seeking to "convert collaboration into autonomy" rather than spending heavily only to become a "junior partner in an architecture designed elsewhere," a report has said.

The report from Australia-based policy think tank Lowy Institute said Washington first made the offer at an India‑US civil‑space meeting in Bengaluru in August and has since pressed the case publicly.

NASA invited India to the Moon and on the contrary "India invited the world instead," the report noted. India maintains multiple diplomatic tracks, deepening ties with France and Australia and supporting BRICS initiatives such as a remote‑sensing constellation and a proposed BRICS Space Council.

India has not announced earmarked funding in response to NASA’s invitation nor identified a specific hardware contribution.

“At the Bengaluru India–US Civil Space Joint Working Group, the two sides instead agreed to deepen cooperation in science, human spaceflight and open scientific-data sharing under the Artemis Accords,” the publication said.

India’s wider strategy involves creating space for private players to take on more manufacturing and mature technologies, freeing ISRO to concentrate on exploration, strategic missions and the frontier capabilities that India intends to keep firmly in national hands.

"New Delhi is weighing whether participation with other countries strengthens its sovereign and commercial standing – and its say over the rules," the report noted.

The caution to join US on permanent NASA base program is not indecision and reflects a bid to gain technology and experience without becoming permanently dependent.

India is considering what it would gain from collaboration with US and how much influence it would have over technical standards, data access, safety practices and the eventual use and sharing of lunar resources.

India wants to help shape the future of the Moon "without surrendering control of its own destination," the report noted.

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