India Celebrates First National Space Day

Chandrayaan-3's Historic Moon Landing

New Delhi, India - August 23: India is celebrating its first National Space Day, marking the anniversary of the Chandrayaan-3 mission's historic landing on the Moon's South Pole. Union Minister of State for the Department of Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh, addressed a gathering at Bharat Mandapam, highlighting ISRO's achievements and future plans.

Dr. Jitendra Singh said, "A year ago, on August 23, 2023, our Chandrayaan-III became the first space mission to land on the south side of the Moon. PM Modi announced that every year this day would be celebrated as National Space Day. The world never expected that we would be able to achieve this feat because our space journey is only 55 years long. Today, ISRO within half a century became the first to have landed on the south side of the Moon, before anyone else."

He emphasized that National Space Day is a time for reflection and planning for the future. "This is a day to reflect how we covered such a long journey in a short time and where do we go from here. This is the showcase of the talent and capability of our scientists. The biggest credit goes to PM Modi. PM Modi gave permission for public-private participation and within 3 to 4 years today, there are 300 start-ups in space. In just 8 months there was an investment from April 1 to Dec 31, 2023. there was an investment of more than 1000 crores," he added.

Dr. Singh also mentioned that the next year would be crucial for the Gaganyaan project and that India aims to have its own space station by 2035 and land on the Moon by 2040. He highlighted how space technology is being used in various sectors such as health, agriculture, climate, disaster management, smart cities, highway construction, and railway security.

President Droupadi Murmu, along with Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh and ISRO Chairman S Somanath, attended an exhibition showcasing space technologies and achievements at Bharat Mandapam. President Murmu distributed prizes to the winners of ISRO's Robotics Challenge and Bharatiya Antariksh Hackathon.

ISRO Chairman S Somanath said, "Last year we successfully launched the Chandrayaan-3 mission. We never imagined the impact that is going to create out of this accomplishment. And it is when the Prime Minister of India visited us in the control centre after a few days, and he declared 23rd August as National Space Day and declared the landing site i.e. Chandrayaan-3 as Shiva Shakti point."

The theme for the first National Space Day is "Touching Lives While Touching the Moon: India's Space Saga." On August 23, 2023, India became the 4th country to achieve a soft landing on the Moon and the 1st to land on the lunar South Pole. In recognition of this achievement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared August 23 as National Space Day.