Scientists and officials from India and the United States will meet here from Monday to dicuss options for joint space exploration projects, Indian officials said here.
The five-day India-US Conference on Space Science, Applications and Commerce in the southern city of Bangalore will adopt a vision statement to lay the foundation for future co-operation, they said Saturday.
"The main objective of this conference is to expand co-operation between India and the US in the field of space science and applications as well as related commercial activity and expand business activities in space," said G. Madhavan Nair, chief of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
He said the conference was a follow-up to a landmark meeting between former Indian prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and US President George W. Bush in November 2001.
More than 500 Indian and foreign delegates will attend the conference, among them 150 US officials and industry representatives, who will discuss earth observation science, satellite communications, satellite navigation and applications, space science, natural hazards research and disaster and space commerce.
The US-based National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Federal Aviation Administration and the US Department of Agriculture will also be represented.