Bengaluru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced that the landing point of the Chandrayaan-3 Mission will be named as “Shiv Shakti Point”, while the Chandrayaan-2 landing failure spot as “Tiranga Point".
PM Modi also said that August 23, the day of the touchdown of the Vikram Lander on the Moon will be celebrated as “National Space Day” in the country.
The PM made the announcements while addressing a gathering of scientists at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) at the ISRO Command Centre in Bengaluru.
The word “Shiv” in Shiv Shakti Point stands for the welfare of humanity and “Shakti” stands for the required strength to get going to achieve the welfare of humanity,” he stated.
The Moon’s Shiv Shakti point will be a symbol of unity from the Himalayas to Kanyakumari, which will inspire future generations in the direction of the use of science for the welfare of humanity, he underlined.
He further stated that earlier it was decided to name the point of the Chandrayaan-2 mission. But after the failure, a decision was taken to announce the naming after achieving the soft landing on the Moon and declare at once. “Tiranga (tricolour) is afloat on every home, in every heart and now on the Moon. What else could be the name of the point? The point on the Moon where Chandrayaan Mission-2 left traces would be called “Tiranga”.
The Tiranga Point will serve as an inspiration. It will be a symbol that will tell failure is not an end. It will also be a testimonial to the fact that if you are committed success is guaranteed. The Chandrayaan-3 Mission has inspired the whole generation and imbibed spirit. Every child who seeds the Moon will have the spirit of achievement inside him, he maintained.
“Hindustan (India) will celebrate the day of soft landing on the Moon as the National Space Day on Aug 23 every year. On the National Space Day science, technology and innovation will be celebrated and it is going to inspire us,” PM Modi explained.
Upon his arrival at ISRO this morning, the Prime Minister was extended a warm welcome by Chairman of ISRO S. Somnath, ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) Director B.N. Ramakrishna and U.R. Rao Satellite Centre Director S. Shankaran.
Thousands of people were seen gathered around ISRO and cheering for PM Modi.
Taking to his social media handle, he posted “Landed in Bengaluru. Looking forward to interacting with our exceptional ISRO scientists who have made India proud with the success of Chandrayaan-3! Their dedication and passion are truly the driving forces behind our nation’s achievements in the space sector."
With inputs from IANS