India and US may collaborate on Moon mission

Science : India hopes to join the US on a sample return mission to the Moon, according to K. Radhakrishnan, chair of the Indian Space Research Organisation. MoonRise is a US effort to land a probe on the Moon’s surface, scoop up 1 kilogram of material, and return it to Earth for analysis. India would provide an orbiter similar to its observation satellite Chandrayaan-1, which in 2009 helped gather evidence of water’s presence on the Moon. ISRO’s involvement has more than technical significance: It would underline a change in Indo–US security relations. Until recently, US labs and companies were prohibited from exchanging technologies with ISRO, in an attempt to limit their use for military purposes. Now, writes Pallava Bagla for Science, the countries may be ready to join hands on a major space mission.