Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses ISRO scientists on the successful soft landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the surface of the Moon at a gathering, in Bengaluru on Saturday, August 26, 2023.
Credit: PTI Photo
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday morning addressed the scientists at the ISRO Telemetry Tracking & Command Network Mission Control Complex in Bengaluru and congratulated them on the success of Chandrayaan-3.
As the PM started his speech, he said that the happiness that he felt at that moment was rare. “Today, I am feeling a different level of happiness...such occasions are very rare.”
Remembering the moment when the soft landing was taking place, the PM recalled that he was quite restless and even though he was in South Africa, his mind was set in India.
In what turned out to be a teary-eyed moment for the prime minister, here are the key takeaways from his speech:
The PM announced that the spot on the Moon where Chandrayaan-3 landed will now be called ‘Shivshakti’. He added that the 'Shivshakti' will inspire the upcoming generations to use science for the welfare of people. “The welfare of people is our supreme commitment..", the PM said.
The place where Chandrayaan-2 left its footprint on the lunar surface in 2019 will now be known as the ‘Tiranga Point’, announced PM Modi.
Lauding ISRO scientists for their success on the Chandrayaan-3 mission, he said: “You have awakened an entire generation and left a deep imprint on them.”
PM Modi announced that India will celebrate August 23 as the 'National Space Day' to mark the successful touchdown of Chandrayaan-3 mission's lander
As the PM congratulated the scientists for taking “Make in India to the moon”, he said that as per experts, in a few years, India's space industry will become $16 billion from $8 billion..."
Encouraging people to rewrite India’s history of colonialism, the PM said, “India's chest of knowledge and science is buried under the era of slavery. In the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Kaal’, we have to excavate this chest.”