NASA recently signed an agreement with the Indian Space Research Organization to continue collaborating with each other in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes.
"This agreement will allow us to cooperate effectively on a wide range of programs of mutual interest. India has extensive space-related experience, capabilities and infrastructure, and will continue to be a welcome partner in NASA's future space exploration activities," said NASA Administrator Michael Griffin.
This new agreement aims to extend a similar agreement first signed in 1997 to foster bilateral cooperation in the areas of Earth and atmospheric sciences.
One of the areas in which the two organizations are cooperating is India's first, mission to the moon, Chandrayaan-1, which is scheduled to launch later this year. NASA is providing two of the 11 instruments on the spacecraft: the moon mineralogy mapper instrument (designed to look for lunar mineral resources) and the miniature synthetic aperture radar instrument (which will look for ice deposits in the moon's polar regions).
According to Astronomy Magazine, the U.S. won't return to the moon until 2018, so collaborating with India on its 2008 Chandrayaan-1 mission will provide an opportunity to continue research on our nearest neighbor.