‘Main objective of National Space Day is to increase people’s knowledge’: ISRO Space Applications Centre Director Nilesh M Desai

NEW DELHI: ISRO Space Applications Centre Director, Nilesh M Desai on Saturday extended greetings on the occasion of National Space Day 2025, emphasising that the main objective of this day is to increase the knowledge of people about space so that they take inspiration from what India has achieved in the sector.

He informed that the organisation will celebrate the second National Space Day in New Delhi, whose chief guest will be Union Minister Jitendra Singh.

“Today we are going to celebrate the second National Space Day. Union Minister Jitendra Singh will be the chief guest of the event. The main objective of celebrating National Space Day is to increase people’s knowledge about space and for them to take inspiration from the successes India has achieved in space,” Desai told ANI.

Desai said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced August 23 as the National Space Day following the success of Chandrayaan 3 in 2023.

“As you would know, on 23rd August 2023, Chandrayaan 3 lander successfully landed on the south pole of the moon. So in its memory, PM Modi had announced to celebrate National Space Day,” Desai said.

The ISRO Space Applications Centre director further emphasised the achievements of India’s space program and noted that it has achieved success in the first trial of the planetary exploration program.

“One of the specialities of the Indian space program has been that in our planetary exploration program, we have achieved success in the first trial itself, that is, in the first attempt itself. Only during Chandrayaan 2, we tried to land, but we failed… Chandrayaan 3 successfully landed on 23rd August 2023 and India became the first country in the world to land on the South Pole…,” he said.

On 23 August 2023, India achieved a historic milestone when the Chandrayaan-3 lander completed a soft landing on the moon. This remarkable accomplishment made India the fourth country to accomplish this feat and the first to land on the lunar South Pole. In recognition of this achievement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has declared August 23 as National Space Day.

The maiden National Space Day was celebrated in 2024 with the theme “Touching Lives While Touching the Moon: India’s Space Saga”.

Meanwhile, this year, the theme for the National Space Day is “Aryabhatta to Gaganyaan: Ancient Wisdom to Infinite Possibilities”.

The theme celebrates the enduring journey of exploration, innovation, and imagination from the profound astronomical insights of our ancient scholars to the cutting-edge frontiers of human spaceflight. (ANI)