India Successfully Hosts Global Space Exploration Conference GLEX25 in New Delhi

The International Astronautical Federation Global Space Exploration Conference (GLEX 2025) was held in New Delhi, the capital of India, on May 7-9, gathering over 1,400 participants under the theme “Reaching New Worlds: A Space Exploration Renaissance.”

This significant event, co-hosted by the ISRO – Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the Astronautical Society Of India (ASI), marked four years since GLEX 2021 in St. Petersburg, Russia. The conference is designed to encouraging the sharing of programmatic, technical and policy information, as well as collaborative solutions, challenges, lessons learnt, and paths forward among all nations with the desire to explore space.

India’s selection as host country reflects its remarkable space achievements, including the Chandrayaan-3 landing near the Moon’s south pole, the Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan), and the upcoming Gaganyaan human spaceflight mission. These accomplishments, coupled with India’s cost-effective approach to space activities, as well as strong support for a New Space ecosystem made it the appropriate venue for this gathering of global space exploration expertise.

The conference brought together astronauts, heads of space agencies, engineers, scientists, policymakers, entrepreneurs, educators, and students—all united in advancing space exploration. Notably absent was NASA due to travel restrictions.

A highlight of the conference was the signing of a joint Statement of Intent between the European Space Agency – ESA and ISRO, focusing on human space exploration cooperation in low Earth orbit and, eventually, on the Moon. This agreement builds on previous collaborations and recent experience working together on the Axiom Space Ax-4 commercial mission which is planned for end of this month with Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla to fly to the International Space Station (ISS).

Thank you, to Team Tumbleweed volunteers for the paper content I presented at the conference. Beyond technical sessions and plenaries, GLEX 2025 offered cultural experiences that showcased Indian heritage. The more intimate scale compared to IAC events created opportunities for more interactions with astronauts, space agency representatives, and fellow space enthusiasts, including International Space University family members.