iPhone | iPad
Android
Huawei
The two-stage rocketship, taller than the Statue of Liberty, blasted off from the company's Starbase launch site near Boca Chica
KT APPDOWNLOAD
India's Moon mission: PM Modi declares August 23 as National Space Day
Prime minister hugs Isro chief as he meets scientists behind historic Chandrayaan-3 mission
ANI
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced that August 23 will be celebrated as National Space Day to mark Chandrayaan-3's landing on the Moon.
Modi also announced that the touchdown spot of the Vikram lander on the lunar surface would from now onwards be known as the ‘Shivshakti’ point while the Chandrayaan-2 Lunar landing point will be called the ‘Tiranga’ point.
“This will be an inspiration for every effort made by India. it will remind us any failure is not final," Modi said.
A visibly emotional Modi addressed scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation's (Isro) command centre in Bengaluru, who were involved in the Chandrayaan-3 mission and lauded them for their efforts.
"On August 23rd, India hoisted the flag on the Moon. From now onwards, that day will be known as National Space Day in India," said Modi.
"Today, I am very feeling a new kind of happiness among you," a beaming PM added.
"Such kind of happiness... these are very rare occasions when the whole body and soul is drenched in happiness," he said while addressing the scientists at Isro’s Telemetry Tracking and Command Network Mission Control Complex in Bengaluru.
He said the scientists had taken the Make In India initiative to the Moon, referring to the boost to indigenous productions due to Chandrayaan-3's success.
During the Moon-landing, Modi was on a two-nation visit to South Africa and Greece but he said his mind was completely with the scientists.
"I could not stop myself as I was not in the country, but I decided to visit Bengaluru first and meet our scientists right after visiting India," he said as the scientists cheered and broke into applause.
The prime minister was accorded a warm reception as he arrived at the Isro headquarters this morning. He met the team of scientists involved in the country's third lunar mission and enveloped Isro chief Somanath in a hug.
ALSO READ:
More news from Space
Burning debris was seen falling onto mountain slopes as sprinklers began spraying water
They moved into the space station last August; their replacements arrived last week in their own SpaceX capsule
Nora AlMatrooshi and Mohammad AlMulla graduated from the 2021 NASA Astronaut Candidate Class training programme on Tuesday
Abdulla Al Shehhi and Fatima Al Shamsi shed light on the urgency of debris mitigation to secure the future of space exploration
According to previous estimates from the company and Nasa, the spacecraft was supposed to operate on the moon for seven to 10 days
Odysseus descended from an orbit and guided itself to the surface, aiming for a relatively flat spot among all the cliffs and craters near the south pole
It will pass over Saudi Arabia during its descent