Nation Observes first National Space Day on 23 August 2024
Important Day
5 min read
The country will celebrate its first National Space Day on 23 August 2024 to mark its remarkable capability and achievements in space. The Indian space programme, which started with the launching of a sounding rocket from Thumba in Kerala on 21 November 1963, has reached a stage where it has developed the capability to land rovers on moons and send rockets to explore other planets like Mars (Mangalyaan Mission) and Sun (Aditya mission). The Indian Space Programme flag bearer, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), is considered one of the world's best space agencies.
Future Plans of ISRO
The first National Space Day celebration was held in New Delhi on 23 August 2024. President Droupadi Murmu was the chief guest of the ceremony. The ISRO chairman, S. Somnath was also present on the occasion.
On the occasion, the President also awarded the winners of the Robotics Challenge and Bharatiya Antariksh Hackathon.
Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh, outlined the government of India's Space Vision 2047.
Some of the important targets under India's Space Vision 2047 are :
- Commissioning of India’s own Space Station named Bharatiya Antariksha Station (BAS) by 2035
- Target to land an Indian Gaganyatri (astronaut) on the Moon by 2040.
Background to the National Space Day
The government of India announced 23 August as National Space Day to mark the landing of the Vikram lander of the Chandrayaan -3 mission on the moon's south pole.
India became the fourth country after the Soviet Union, the United States of America, and China to land a rover on the moon and the first country to land on the moon's south pole.
The Vikarm lander landed on the 23rd of August, 2023, at 18.04 Indian time at the 69.37-degree South latitude and 32.35-degree East longitude of the moon’s surface.
The government of India later renamed the place where the Vikram lander landed as Shiv Shakti Point.
Chandrayaan -3 mission
The Chandrayaan-3 mission was launched by ISRO from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, on 14 July 2023 on a GSLV—Mark III (LVM-3) heavy-lift rocket. The spacecraft carried a lander, Vikram, and a rover, Pragyan.
Unlike the Chandrayaan -2 mission, the Chandrayaan -3 mission did not have an orbiter to orbit around the moon.
The estimated budget of the Chandrayaan -3 mission was Rs 615 crore.
A 2-meter-tall Vikram, with a mass of just over 1,700 kg, carried a 26-kg lunar rover named Pragyan to the surface of the moon..
The lunar Rover Pragyaan conducted a series of experiments, including a spectrometer analysis of the mineral composition of the lunar surface.
The Pragyan rover, deployed on the lunar surface, explored the nearby area by traversing about 103 meters over the next ten Earth days. 14 Earth Days is equal to one Lunar Day.
Theme of first National Space Day 2024
‘Touching Lives while Touching the Moon: India's Space Saga -is the theme of the first National Space Day 2024.
