The spot where Chandrayaan-3’s moon lander landed, that point will be known as ‘Shivshakti’, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on 26 August at ISRO Telemetry Tracking & Command Network Mission Control Complex in Bengaluru.
While addressing the team ISRO at ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC), he also announed the place where Chandrayaan-2 left its footprint on the Lunar surface in 2019. He said that the crash-landed site will be known as ‘Tiranga Point’.
He added saying, “Women scientists played a key role in Chandrayaan 3..this 'Shiv shakti' point will inspire the upcoming generations to use science for the welfare of people. The welfare of people is our supreme commitment.."
Speaking about the soft landing on the moon's south pole, the prime minister added, “Our scientists built an artificial Moon at ISRO research facility to test the soft landing of the lander. The lander was bound to succeed as it passed several tests before going there (to the Moon)."
PM Modi flew down today directly to Bengaluru from the Greek capital of Athens to interact with ISRO scientists on the successful Chandrayaan-3 mission.
The Prime Minister also announced that August 23, the day the Chandrayaan-3 lander touched down on the lunar surface, would be celebrated as "National Space Day".
He was accorded a warm reception as he arrived at the ISRO headquarters in Bengaluru on Saturday morning.
After a 40-day journey into space, Chandrayaan-3 mission successfully touched down on the lunar surface on 23 August wehrein the Prime Minister had joined the ISRO team at Mission Operations Complex (MOX) at ISTRAC virtually from Johannesburg, where he was attending the 15th BRICS Summit.
Prior to meeting the ISRO scientists, PM raised the slogan 'Jai Vigyan Jai Anusandhan' and greeted people lining the streets outside HAL airport after his arrival in Bengaluru. "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," PM Modi on his arrival to the Garden City.
(With inputs from agencies)