New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at the ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru on Saturday morning to greet the scientists behind the historic Chandrayaan-3 mission. Further, he named the landing spot as ‘shivshakti’.
The Prime Minister, who was on a two-nation tour of South Africa and Greece, cut short his trip to return to India to witness the soft landing of the Chandrayaan-3 lander Vikram on the lunar surface.
The lander touched down at 1:45am IST, successfully completing the mission’s most critical phase. PM Modi hailed the achievement as a “moment of pride” for India and its scientists.
“India is now on the moon,” he said in a tweet. “This is a historic achievement and a big moment for our space programme.”
PM Modi arrived at ISTRAC shortly after the landing and was greeted by ISRO Chairman S. Somanath and other senior officials. He interacted with the scientists and congratulated them on their success.
“I am immensely proud of our scientists and their tireless efforts,” he said. “This is a major milestone in our space journey and a testament to our growing capabilities.”
The Prime Minister also said that the Chandrayaan-3 mission would pave the way for future exploration of the moon.
“This is just the beginning,” he said. “We will continue to push the boundaries of our space programme and achieve even greater things.”
The Chandrayaan-3 mission is India’s third lunar mission. The first, Chandrayaan-1, was launched in 2008 and orbited the moon for a year. The second, Chandrayaan-2, was launched in 2019 and was supposed to land on the moon’s south pole, but the lander Vikram lost contact with ground control during the final descent.
The Chandrayaan-3 mission is a follow-up to Chandrayaan-2 and is designed to land a rover on the moon’s south pole. The rover will be tasked with exploring the region and collecting data on its geology and potential for resources.
The success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission is a major boost for India’s space programme and puts the country in an elite group of nations that have successfully landed on the moon. It is also a significant achievement for PM Modi, who has made space exploration a priority of his government.
The Prime Minister’s visit to ISTRAC was a clear sign of his appreciation for the scientists and their work. It also served to highlight the importance of the space programme to India’s future.