|
||
|
||
DOS/ISRO has formal Memoranda of Understanding or Agreements with Australia, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, China, EUMETSAT, European Space Agency (ESA), France, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Mauritius, Mongolia, The Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Russia, Sweden, Thailand, UK, Ukraine and USA. A new umbrella agreement on cooperation in space and an agreement on cooperation in the joint development, operation and utilisation of the Russian satellite navigation system, GLONASS, were signed between the Governments of India and Russia in December 2004. India-USA Conference on Space Science, Applications and Commerce was held in Bangalore in July 2004 involving high level government officials and representatives of the space industries and academia. The conference addressed issues related to scientific cooperation and commercial collaboration and came out with a vision statement depicting the resolve of both sides to move forward. The Indo-French joint satellite mission, Megha-Tropiques, received further fillip during the year when ISRO and the Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) signed a Memorandum of Understanding for taking up the Phase-C, D and E of the programme. Megha-Tropiques mission aims at the study of the tropical atmosphere and climate related to aspects such as monsoons, cyclones, etc. There will also be scientific cooperation in validating and calibrating the instruments and analysing the data. It was also agreed to fly the ARGOS data collection instrument on Megha-Tropiques. ISRO and the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) carried out an aerial campaign over selected sites in India using DLR's E-SAR multi-frequency, multi-polarisation Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) for study of the optimum radar parameters for different ground features. This campaign also symbolises the 30 years of successful cooperation between ISRO and DLR. ISRO and the Israel Space Agency continued discussions on the scientific and technical interfaces for flying an ultraviolet astronomy telescope from Israel called TAUVEX on ISRO's experimental Geo-synchronous satellite,GSAT-4. ISRO and the Canadian Space Agency are working on the development of the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UVIT) planned on ISRO's multi wavelength astronomy satellite, ASTROSAT. The international scientific community has responded well for the Announcement of Opportunity made by ISRO for flying small auxiliary instruments on board India's first scientific mission to moon, Chandrayaan-1. ISRO and the Italian Space Agency held discussions during the year to identify possibilities of joint activities including flying an Italian instrument on an Indian satellite, launching an Italian satellite on PSLV and other scientific collaborations. India plays an active role in several international bodies such as the United Nations Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN-COPUOS), United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP), the international COSPAS-SARSAT system for search and rescue operations, the International Astronautical Federation, the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites, the Committee on Space Research, the Inter Agency Debris Coordination Committee, the Space Frequency Coordination Group the Coordinating Group on Meteorological Satellites, the International Global Observing Strategy, the International Space University, the Asian Association for Remote Sensing, the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, etc. After becoming a partner in the International Charter for Space and Major Disasters along with CNES, ESA, the Canadian Space Agency and NOAA, ISRO is working together with the other partners in planning to provide satellite data for the management of natural disasters. The tenth session of the Intergovernmental Consultative Committee (ICC) on Regional Space Applications Programme (RESAP) was organised by ISRO and the UN ESCAP at Bangalore in October 2004. ICC, represented by Heads of space agencies in the ESCAP region, guides the RESAP activities. The tenth ICC set out the agenda for the third Ministerial Conference and is expected to provide the content and direction for that conference. Sharing of Experience in Space (SHARES) is a scheme ISRO has set up under which training in different applications of space technology is provided to scientists from other developing countries. According to the general arrangement under this scheme, selected candidates are provided living expenditure and allowances by DOS while the cost of international travel is borne by the sponsoring country. The Centre for Space Science and Technology Education for Asia and the Pacific (CSSTE-AP), set up in India under the initiative of the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs, offers ten month post graduate diploma courses in Remote Sensing and Geographical Information Systems (every year starting in October), Satellite Communication (every alternate year starting in July), Satellite Meteorology and Global Climate (every alternate year starting in July) and Space and Atmospheric Studies (every alternate year starting in July). Following the course, the candidates have the opportunity to carry out research in their own country for one year leading to the award of a Master's Degree from Andhra University. There are several international agencies apart from the Government of India providing support for candidates participating in the CSSTE-AP courses.
|
||
|
||
