First National Space Day being celebrated across the country today

The first National Space Day is being celebrated across the country today. President Droupadi Murmu will inaugurate the main function, which will be held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. The theme for this year’s celebration is Touching Lives while Touching the Moon: India’s Space Saga, which emphasizes the profound impact of space exploration on society and technology. On the occasion of National Space Day, the President will honour the winners of the Robotics Challenge and Bhartiya Antariksh Hackathon.

On this day last year, the Chandrayaan-3 Mission accomplished a safe and soft landing of the Vikram Lander on the lunar surface. With this achievement, India



has joined the elite group of Spacefaring nations becoming only the fourth nation to land on the surface, and the first nation to land near the south pole of the Moon. 

The soft landing was followed by a successful deployment of the Pragyaan Rover. The landing site was named Shiv Shakti Point and 23rd August was declared as the National Space Day. The National Space Day recognizes significant achievements in space exploration and highlights advancements in space technologies. India’s foray into space research started in the early 1960s and progressed steadily by developing niche technologies.