MEA, NSIL sign agreement to assist launch of Nepalese Munal satellite

The Ministry of External Affairs and ISRO's commercial arm NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) signed an agreement on Saturday to grant assistance for the launching of the Nepal-built Munal satellite, according to an official statement.

Munal is an indigenous satellite developed in Nepal under the aegis of the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), the MEA said.

Antarikchya Pratishan Nepal (APN), a Nepalese space startup, has assisted Nepalese students in the design and fabrication of this satellite. The satellite aims to build a vegetation density database of the earth's surface, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in the statement.

The MoU was signed by Anurag Srivastava, Joint Secretary (North) from MEA and Arunachalam A, Director from NSIL.

Rabindra Prasad Dhakal, Secretary, Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), Surendra Thapa, Charg d'affaires of Nepali Embassy and Abhas Maskey, Founder, Antarikchya Pratishan Nepal (APN) were also present on the occasion.

During the visit of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to Nepal to co-chair the 7th Joint Commission meeting, he witnessed the exchange of this Launch Service Agreement for Munal Satellite between NSIL and NAST on January 4, it said.

"This satellite is expected to be launched soon on NSIL's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle," the statement said.