NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday marked the first National Space Day, celebrating India’s historic achievement in landing its first spacecraft on the Moon with the Chandrayaan-3 mission.
PM Modi, who had announced the celebration of the National Space Day last year following India’s success in this endeavour, took to social media to greet the nation.
“Greetings to everyone on the first National Space Day. We recall with great pride our nation’s achievements in the space sector. It is also a day to laud the contributions of our space scientists,” he wrote on X.
The Prime Minister said the government was committed to advancing the country’s space sector, stating, “Our Government has taken a series of futuristic decisions relating to this sector and we will do even more in the times to come.”
The Chandrayaan-3 mission, launched on July 14, successfully landed on the Moon’s surface on August 23, making India the first country to land a spacecraft on the lunar south pole. It also became the fourth country to achieve a soft landing on the lunar surface after the United States, China, and the former Soviet Union.
The mission’s objectives included demonstrating safe and soft-landing on the lunar surface, roving on the moon, and conducting in-situ scientific experiments.
The success of Chandrayaan-3 was hailed by international leaders, including Nasa Administrator Bill Nelson, who congratulated India on being the fourth country to successfully soft-land a spacecraft on the moon.
European Space Agency (ESA) Director General Josef Aschbacher also praised the achievement, highlighting ESA’s involvement in providing ground station support for the mission.
The PM Modi-led government has been actively promoting space exploration and cooperation, as seen during his state visit to the United States last year, where space cooperation was a major topic of discussion. India signed the Artemis accord and agreed to work together on a mission to the International Space Station.
Agencies

Agencies