Chandrayaan-3 landing point to be known as 'Shiv Shakti Point', says PM

Bengaluru, Aug 26: The landing point of the Chandrayaan-3 Mission would be known as “Shiv Shakti Point”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced at ISRO here on Saturday.

While the Chandrayaan-2 landing failure spot will be called “Tiranga point", the day of touchdown of the Vikram Lander on the Moon (August 23) will be celebrated as the “National Space Day” in the country, he added.

Prime Minister Modi made the announcements while addressing the gathering of scientists at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) at the ISRO Command Centre.

“India has decided to name the touchdown point where Vikram Lander made a soft landing on the Moon as “Shiv Shakti Point”. The word “Shiv” stands for the welfare of humanity. “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. The Shiv Shakti Point will inspire future generations in the direction of the use of science for the welfare of humanity, he underlined.

PM Modi 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.

PM Modi greeted the three scientists with a hug and patted their backs.

Later, he posed with them for clicks.

According to sources, PM Modi will interact with scientists for 45 minutes at the ISRO.

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.”