Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
You’re reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
Following the success of Chandrayaan-3 landing on the Moon’s surface on August 23, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday declared that day to be celebrated as ‘National Space Day’. He also announced the spot where Chandrayaan-3’s lander landed, as ‘Shiv Shakti’, and where Chandrayaan-2 left its “footprint” in 2019 as ‘Tiranga Point’.
“This will be an inspiration for every effort made by India. it will remind us that any failure is not final,” he said, referring to the mission’s failed soft-landing in September 2019,” said PM Modi while addressing the scientists at ISRO on Saturday.
PM Modi flew directly to the ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network Mission Control Complex in Bengaluru on Saturday, after concluding his two-nation visit to South Africa and Greece, to congratulate and meet the ISRO scientists involved in the Chandrayaan-3 mission to the Moon.
Interacting with our @isro scientists in Bengaluru. The success of Chandrayaan-3 mission is an extraordinary moment in the history of India’s space programme. https://t.co/PHUY3DQuzb
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 26, 2023
He credited the achievement and also ISRO’s role in the country’s progress. “This is India, which thinks innovatively and uniquely. This is India which goes to dark zones and illuminates the world by spreading light,”PM Modi said.
“There was a time when we were counted in the third row. Today, from trade to technology, India is being counted among the countries standing in the first row. In this journey from ‘Third row’ to ‘First row’, institutions like ISRO have played a huge role,” PM Modi said.
Not only the PM Modi saluted the scientists for “awakening an entire generation” and taking “‘Make in India’ to the Moon”, but also recognised the contribution of women scientists in Chandrayaan-3’s success.
On August 23 at 6:03 pm, India created a history when its Chandrayaan-3 made a successful landing at the south pole of the moon. With this, India became the first nation to land in the south polar region, and the fourth nation to land successfully on the lunar surface, joining the ranks of the United States, Russia, and China. The mission was headed by S. Somanath, Chairperson, Indian Space Research Organisation.