Thiruvananthapuram: S Somanath, the ISRO Chairman, claimed on Saturday that India has the capability to launch more interplanetary missions, and the primary goal of the nation’s space agency is to advance the country through the expansion of the space sector.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a long-term vision for the country’s space sector, and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is fully prepared to execute it, he informed reporters at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport on Saturday night.

Somnath arrived in the Kerala capital for the first time following the historic success of the moon mission. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi directly travelled from Greece to Bengaluru to greet and offer his gratitude to the ISRO scientists.

“Where we are concerned, all aspects of Chandrayaan-3 were 100 per cent successful not just a soft landing. The entire country takes pride in it and is offering us its support,” he commented.

Somnath expressed his happiness and pride in being part of ISRO’s remarkable achievement and urged people to sustain their support for their future endeavours.

“We have the ability to explore further in space, be it the moon, Mars, or Venus. However, we need to boost our confidence for that. Additionally, increased investment is necessary,” he stated.

He emphasised that the expansion of the space sector should continue, contributing to the overall progress of the country – this remains ISRO’s objective.

Aditya-L1

Regarding Aditya-L1, the initial space-based Indian observatory intended to study the sun, S Somnath revealed that the satellite is ready and has reached Sriharikota.

The launch is anticipated in the first week of September, and the exact date will be disclosed in two days, he assured.

“It will take nearly 125 days to reach Lagrange point 1 (L1) from Earth after launch. We need to wait until then,” Mr. Somnath explained.

He also disclosed that both the rover and the lander of Chandrayaan-3 have captured images.

Research & Studies

The chairman explained that the ISRO team is anticipating more high-quality images in the upcoming days. For now, they are concentrating on scientific research and studies related to the moon.

India made history on Wednesday as the Lander Module (LM) of ISRO’s ambitious third moon mission, Chandrayaan-3, safely landed on the lunar surface. This achievement made India the fourth country to accomplish such a feat and the first to land at the uncharted south pole of Earth’s natural satellite.

PM Modi also announced that the site where the Chandrayaan-3 Vikram lander softly touched down would be named “Shiv Shakti Point.” Additionally, the location where the Chandrayaan-2 lander crash-landed on the Moon’s surface in 2019 will be known as “Tiranga Point.”

Furthermore, August 23, the date on which the Chandrayaan-3 lander successfully landed on the lunar surface, will now be celebrated as “National Space Day,” according to PM Modi’s announcement.