Addressing the first National Space Day Celebration at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi today, President of India, Droupadi Murmu appreciated the dedicated scientists who have placed India’s Space Program among the best Space Programs in the world by using minimum resources.

National Space Day is being celebrated to commemorate the successful landing of the ‘Vikram’ Lander on the surface of the Moon on 23rd August 2023. The President presented awards to winners of ‘Robotics Challenge’ and ‘Bharatiya Antariksh Hackathon’ on the occasion.

In her address, the President celebrated the remarkable achievements made by ISRO’s since its initial days and remarked, “ISRO is moving ahead with the aim of establishing India’s space station. I am also eagerly looking forward to the Gaganyaan mission which will take the Indian space team to space. I am confident that all these missions will yield results that will benefit the country socially, economically and scientifically.”

She stated that India’s progress in the space sector has been extraordinary be it a successfully completed Mars mission with limited resources, or the successful launch of more than a hundred satellites at once, we have made many impressive achievements.

The President noted that many sectors have benefited from developments in the space sector, including health and medicine, transportation, security, energy, environment, and information technology. Further, she pointed out that with the opening of the space sector to the private sector, the number of start-ups has increased at a very rapid pace which has also given new opportunities to our youth to showcase and hone their talents.

The President also expressed concerns for space debris but appreciated the ‘ISRO System for Safe & Sustainable Operations Management’ facility which is being operated to ensure continuous progress of space research activities. The President was also happy to note that India is moving forward to make all its space missions ‘debris-free’ by the year 2030.

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology Dr. Jitendra Singh reflected on India’s remarkable achievements in Space exploration and its ambitious future goals. He highlighted the historic landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon’s South Pole, a feat that astonished the world and established India as a leader in space exploration.

“In the last six decades, India has not only touched the lives of its citizens but also reached the Moon,” said Dr. Jitendra Singh. He emphasized the significant progress made in the past decade, including the successful Mars Orbiter Mission, the launch of AstroSat, Chandrayaan-2, and Chandrayaan-3, the upcoming Aditya-L1 solar mission, and the XPoSat, an X-Ray astronomy mission.

Looking ahead, Dr. Jitendra Singh outlined the Space Vision 2047, which includes the commissioning of the Bharatiya Antariksha Station (BAS) by 2035 and Indian astronauts landing on the Moon by 2040. He expressed confidence that what begins with human spaceflight in Low Earth Orbit will expand to India’s own scientific activities onboard an indigenous space station, leading to further lunar exploration and beyond.

President Droupadi Murmu graced the first National Space Day event in New Delhi. The President said that ISRO has made remarkable achievements in the space sector. She appreciated the dedicated scientists who have positioned India’s Space Programme among the best Space Programmes… pic.twitter.com/7eCTH093Ds

— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) August 23, 2024