During his speech at the annual summit of BRICS leaders on Wednesday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi put forth the concept of a fresh space exploration consortium. This announcement coincided with a momentous event as India's lunar probe achieved an unprecedented landing on the moon's southern pole.
“We are already working on the BRICS satellite constellation. Taking it a step further, we can consider creating a BRICS space-exploration consortium. Under this, we can work for global good in areas like space research [and] weather monitoring,” PM Modi said.
In the previous year, the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) established a collaborative committee for space cooperation, aimed at facilitating data sharing among the five countries' remote sensing satellite constellations. This initiative had been initially advocated by China back in 2015.
The constellation comprises existing satellites from BRICS members, encompassing China's Gaofen-6 and ZY-3 02 satellite, Russia's Canopus five-satellite, India's ZY 2 and 2A satellites, and the China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite 04, developed jointly. The satellite data from the constellation is accessible through ground stations situated in Sanya, China; Cuiaba, Brazil; Moscow Region, Russia; Shadnagar-Hyderabad, India; and Hartbeeshawk, South Africa.
In the preceding month, Russia proposed the establishment of a dedicated specialized module within the Russian Orbital Station (ROS), scheduled for launch in 2027. This proposition could potentially empower BRICS countries to carry out their respective national space programs within the station's low near-Earth orbit.
“I would like to propose that our partners in BRICS consider the opportunity to take part in this project and create a full-fledged module through joint efforts, which would enable BRICS countries, as part of the ROS project, to use the opportunity offered by [ROS’] low near-Earth orbit to carry out their respective national space programs,” Yury Borisov, the director-general of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos, said.
During the Johannesburg summit held this week, PM Modi put forth a suggestion for collaboration encompassing education, skills enhancement, technology, and the concept of "skills mapping." This mapping initiative aims to discern the unique strengths of each BRICS member state.
“To make BRICS a future-ready organization, we have to make our societies future-ready. Technology will play an important role in this,” PM Modi said.
Furthermore, he recommended joint endeavors among the member states for safeguarding diverse species of large felines through the International Big Cat Alliance. Additionally, he proposed the establishment of a repository dedicated to traditional medicine, considering the unique ecosystem of traditional medicine in each BRICS country.
Acknowledging India's "full support" for BRICS' expansion, the Indian leader lauded South Africa's presidency for according special significance to Global South nations. He emphasized that New Delhi, too, prioritizes this topic prominently within its Group of Twenty (G20) presidency, asserting its current relevance and importance. Stressing this, Modi highlighted India's initiative to offer permanent membership to the African Union within the G20, expressing optimism in BRICS embracing a similar perspective.
