August 23, when Chandrayaan-3 landed on Moon, to be celebrated as National Space Day

India will observe August 23 - when India scripted history and became the first nation to touch the south pole of the Moon with its Chandrayaan-3 mission - as National Space Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced. PM Modi, soon after returning from his two-nation visit to South Africa and Greece, met Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientists involved in the successful Chandrayaan-3 mission, in Karnataka's Bengaluru in the early hours of Saturday.

Amid slogans like 'Vande Mataram', 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' and ‘Jai Ho’ as people gave him a warm welcome at Bengaluru's HAL airport, PM Modi raised the slogan "Jai Vigyan, Jai Anusandhan", adding, "I could not stop myself as I was not in the country, but I decided to visit Bengaluru first and meet our scientists right after visiting India."

Shivashakti and Tiranga points on the Moon

The PM further announced that the spot where Chandrayaan-3’s landed will be known as ‘Shivashakti', and the point where Chandrayaan-2 "left its imprints' will now be called 'Tiranga'.

"This is today’s Bharat on display. This is the Bharat that thinks anew. This is the Bharat that spreads light across the world. India will lead the solutions for the world. I keep reliving every second before touchdown. That moment of touchdown is unforgettable and eternal for India," the Prime Minister said in his emotional address to the gathering of scientists.

Prime Minister Modi, who was in Johannesburg for the 15th BRICS Summit, landed in Bengaluru to extend his greetings to ISRO scientists for the success of Chandrayaan-3 which carved history with its space endeavour and landed softly on the moon's surface on August 23, enlisting India among a select group of countries to achieve the feat. Attending virtually during the Lander module's touch down, PM Modi hailed the historic soft landing, stating, "India is now on the moon".