New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday declared 23 August as National Space Day — to commemorate the successful soft landing of Chandrayaan-3 mission’s lander Vikram on the lunar surface that day. In his address to scientists of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) at the agency’s Bengaluru headquarters, Modi also named the landing spot as ‘Shiv Shakti point’ — a reference to lord Shiva.
Days after India became the fourth country to reach the moon and the first to achieve a soft landing on its south pole, PM Modi said in Bengaluru, “The spot on the lunar surface where the Chandrayaan-2 [lander] left its footprints will be known as ‘Tiranga’. This will be an inspiration for every effort made by India. It will remind us that any failure is not final.”
The Chandrayaan-2 mission failed four years ago when Vikram crash-landed on the lunar surface on 6 September 2019.
Referring to the Chandrayaan-3 mission as “an extraordinary success”, PM Modi, who was in South Africa for the BRICS Summit at the time of the soft landing Wednesday, said he had been waiting to meet the scientists.
He also said the team built an “artificial moon” at the research facility to test the soft landing. That, coupled with the fact that the lander passed “several tests” before heading to the Moon, is why the the mission “was bound to succeed”, he said.
The Prime Minister also acknowledged the role of women scientists in the mission. “Women scientists played a key role in Chandrayaan-3…this ‘Shiv Shakti’ point will inspire coming generations to use science for the welfare of people…which is our supreme commitment.”
Adding that India’s footprint in the global space industry is steadily growing, Modi said that India’s space industry will “grow to $16 billion from $8 billion”.
At the time of landing, Modi had hailed the mission’s success as a win for all of humanity. “I am confident that all countries in the world, including those from Global South, are capable of achieving such feats. We can all aspire for the Moon and beyond,” he had remarked.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
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