The US-India Business Council has hailed American cooperation in India's first unmanned lunar mission Chandrayaan-I saying it marks the beginning of a new era of trust and partnership between the two countrys in the field of space exploration.

"The United States and India are cooperating at this level of space exploration and this marks the beginning of a whole new era of trust and partnership. The Chandrayaan lunar mission will lead to exciting scientific advances," USIBC president Ron Somers said at a gathering of American businessmen and governmental officials honouring the chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation G Madhavan [Images] Nair.

President Bush's vision for partnership with India in space exploration will get a major boost in April 2008 when India's first unmanned lunar mission Chandrayaan I launches from Tamil Nadu, Somers said.

Chandrayaan -- for the first time in the history of both countries -- will carry a payload atop an Indian rocket that includes two critical NASA [Images] instruments to map the moon, the USIBC said in a statement.

"Chandrayaan-I signifies the best example of technological excellence. The strides that the US and India can make together as partners in space will advance tele-medicine, tele-education, and disaster preparedness and management. Indian scientists deserve our heartiest congratulations," Somers added.