Nasa is not attending the global space meet in Delhi. Here's why
The global space exploration conference underway in New Delhi has delegates from 35 countries across the world, except one.
The American space agency, Nasa, has not sent delegates to the global space meet being hosted by India where thirty-five countries, space agency officials from China, Japan, Canada and Europe, 1,700 delegates and ten astronauts representing various countries are huddled in New Delhi.
When asked about Nasa's absences, officials noted that it was likely to a transition at the American space agency with US President Donald Trump rolling out a new Nasa budget and slashing manpower.
Donald Trump's newly proposed budget for Nasa, unveiled as part of the White House's 2026 "skinny budget," marks the largest single-year cut to the agency in American history, slashing top-line funding by 24%-from $24.8 billion to $18.8 billion. US President Donald Trump watches the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. (Photo: AFP)
The move has alarmed space experts and advocates, who warn that the cuts will have severe repercussions for US space exploration and could hand China a decisive advantage in the modern race to the Moon.
The GLEX-2025 is organised by the International Astronautical Federation and the Indian Space Research Organisation.
Inaugurating the global conference, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said for India, space was about exploration as well as empowerment, and listed out plans to set up the Bharatiya Anatariksh Station by 2035 and land an Indian astronaut on the Moon by 2040.
"India's space journey is not about racing others. It is about reaching higher together. Together, we share a common goal to explore space for the good of humanity," he said in the video message that was recorded on Tuesday.
An Indian astronaut will travel to space as part of a joint Isro-Nasa Mission to the International Space Station.
The Axiom-4 mission is stated for launch on May 29 and Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and three others will undertake a 14-day sojourn to the orbital laboratory.
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