Thiruvananthapuram, August 27 – ISRO Chairman S Somanath stated on Saturday that India possesses the capability to undertake more interplanetary missions, and the primary goal of the space agency is to advance the country through the expansion of its space sector. Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds a long-term vision for the nation’s space sector, and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is fully prepared to execute this vision, he informed reporters at the international airport in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday night.
Somanath arrived in the Kerala capital for the first time following the historic success of the lunar mission.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi traveled directly from Greece to Bengaluru to pay tribute to ISRO scientists.
“In our perspective, not only was the soft landing successful, but all aspects of Chandrayaan-3 were executed with 100 percent success. The entire nation takes pride in this accomplishment and continues to offer its support to us,” he remarked.
An exultant Somanath expressed his happiness and pride in being part of ISRO’s remarkable achievement. He urged people to maintain their support for ISRO’s future undertakings.
“We possess the capability to explore the moon, Mars, or Venus further… but for that, we must enhance our confidence… and also increase investments,” he stated.
Somanath emphasized that the expansion of the space sector should contribute to the overall progress of the country, aligning with ISRO’s objective.
When asked about Aditya-L1, the inaugural Indian space-based observatory for studying the sun, Somanath announced that the satellite is prepared and has reached Sriharikota.
The launch is anticipated in the first week of September, and the exact date will be announced within two days, he added.
“After launch, it will take approximately 125 days to reach Lagrange point 1 (L1) from Earth. We will have to wait until then,” Somanath explained.
He further revealed that both the rover and the lander of Chandrayaan-3 have captured images.
Somanath noted that the ISRO team eagerly awaits more high-quality images in the upcoming days. Currently, their focus is primarily on scientific research and studies related to the moon.
On Wednesday, India achieved a historic milestone as the Lander Module (LM) of ISRO’s ambitious third lunar mission, Chandrayaan-3, successfully landed on the moon’s surface. This achievement made India the fourth country to accomplish such a feat and the first to land on the unexplored south pole of Earth’s natural satellite.
Modi also declared on Saturday that the location where Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram lander softly touched down would be named “Shiv Shakti Point,” while the site where the Chandrayaan-2 lander crash-landed on the moon’s surface in 2019 would be designated as “Tiranga Point.”
Furthermore, Modi announced that August 23, the day Chandrayaan-3’s lander landed on the lunar surface, would be celebrated as National Space Day.
