Chandrayaan 1, 2 and 3: Tracing PM Modi’s affection for science and space missions

‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Vigyan, Jai Anusandhan’ is the slogan that Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the crowd to chant outside Bengaluru’s HAL airport after he landed in Karnataka’s capital to meet the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientists behind Chandrayaan-3’s success.

While PM Modi urged the crowd to chant this slogan, he added that the words showed appreciation for science, technology, innovation and invention. 

As the Prime Minister congratulated and appreciated the ISRO team led by its chairman S Somanath, here’s a look at his fascination for science and innovation with a focus on his visits to ISRO. 

Chandrayaan-1: When a state CM proposed dinner party for ISRO 

When Narendra Modi was the Gujarat chief minister in 2008, he had visited the Space Application Centre (SAC) in Ahmedabad after the success of Chandrayaan-1 to congratulate the scientists. During the visit, he sent out an invitation, asking the scientists to join him for dinner. Modi had also asked the scientists to bring their families, families and retired officials. 

“Till Chandrayaan-1, the moon was believed to be a bone-dry, geologically inactive and uninhabitable celestial body. Now, it is seen as a dynamic and geologically active body with the presence of water and sub-surface ice. Maybe in the future, it can be potentially inhabited!” This is how Prime Minister Narendra Modi remembers India’s first moon mission Chandrayaan-1 which was launched in 2008.

Till Chandrayaan-1, the moon was believed to be a bone-dry, geologically inactive and uninhabitable celestial body. Now, it is seen as a dynamic and geologically active body with the presence of water and sub-surface ice. Maybe in the future, it can be potentially inhabited!

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 14, 2023

Chandrayaan-2: When PM Modi consoled ISRO Chairman K Sivan 

While the Prime Minister watched the successful take-off of Chandrayaan-2 from his office, he flew down to Bengaluru to witness the touchdown in 2019. However, the mission did not go as planned and the Vikram Lander had a hard landing on the lunar surface during the final descent. The Prime Minister, at the time when the lander lost contact with the ground stations, was at the ISRO facility. He, however, chose to leave immediately. 

After returning to the ISRO centre the next morning, he gave a pep talk to the scientists to lift their morale and emphasised that there are no failures in science, but only experiments.

Then a famous incident that has etched in the memory of Indians forever took place.

It was when the then ISRO chairman K Sivan had broken down into tears. PM Modi then pulled the ISRO chief towards him and gave him a warm hug. The two hugged each other for a few seconds and as tears rolled down Sivan’s eyes, PM Modi stoked his back to console him.

Chandrayaan-3: PM Modi flies to Bengaluru from Greece 

PM Modi flew down to Bengaluru directly from Greece, to congratulate the ISRO scientists over the grand success of Chandrayaan-3. The Prime Minister had also expressed the excitement to interact with the scientists. 

He has watched the touch-down of Vikram Lander live from Johannesburg, as he was in South Africa to attend the BRICS summit. On the launch of Chandrayaan-3 on July 14, the Prime Minister shared his appreciation for ISRO and the ongoing space programmes by sharing a thread on social media platform X. 

With being the first nation to achieve a soft-landing on the south pole of the lunar surface, India is now preparing for Gaganyaan, its first manned space mission, and Aditya L1, the solar mission.

Mangalyaan Mission

During the success of Mangalyaan, India’s maiden mission to Mars, Prime Minister Modi was present at the ISRO headquarters. He applauded the efforts saying, “History has been created today! We have dared to reach out into the unknown and achieved the near impossible. I congratulate all Isro scientists as well as all my fellow Indians.”

Emphasising on the belief he had on the scientists, he said that he knew the Mars Orbiter Mission would not disappoint as its acronym became MOM (mother). He said, “Aaj MOM ka Mangal se milan ho gaya, aur Mangal ko MOM mil gayi.”