National Space Day: Why PM Modi Picked Aug. 23 To Celebrate ISRO's Achievements?

India on Saturday celebrated its second National Space Day, a date chosen to honour the historic landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the lunar south pole on August 23, 2023. Union Minister Jitendra Singh was the chief guest at this year's celebrations.

Explaining the significance, Nilesh M Desai, Director of ISRO's Space Applications Centre, said, "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. The main objective… is to increase people's knowledge about space and for them to take inspiration from the successes India has achieved in space."

Desai highlighted India's rare record of achieving planetary exploration milestones in maiden attempts. "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.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on India's private sector to scale up ambitions through his address. "Today on the occasion of Space Day, I would like to ask the country's space start-ups whether we can create five unicorns in the space sector in the next 5 years. Now we see five big launches from India every year. I would like the private sector to come forward and in the next five years, we should reach a stage where we can launch 50 rockets every year—one rocket every week," he said.

Modi added that space technology was becoming a vital part of governance. "Whether it is satellite-based assessment in the crop insurance scheme or the information and safety provided to fishermen through satellites… Be it disaster management or the use of geospatial data in the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan… Today, India's progress in space is making the lives of ordinary citizens easier," he said.

ISRO Chairman Dr. S Somanath also marked the occasion with a message on X, saying, "Chandrayaan-3, Vikram's gentle landing—etched forever in memory. The control centre screens still glow with pride. A game-changing moment for India. Congratulations #ISRO on 'National Space Day'!"