The Nanda Devi Capers: How a CIA-IB Mission Lost a Nuclear Device in the Himalayas
In 1965 the CIA and India's Intelligence Bureau attempted to mount a plutonium-powered telemetry device on Nanda Devi to monitor China’s nascent nuclear program; brutal ascent, altitude sickness, and harsh weather forced its abandonment and ultimate loss, with later attempts and nearby sensors yielding limited data before satellite reconnaissance rendered such ground devices obsolete; in 1978 Indian Prime Minister Morarji Desai publicly confirmed Indian cooperation, helping to ease tensions and improve U.S.–India relations under the Carter administration.