India is celebrating its first National Space Day on August 23, 2024


“Chandrayaan 3 was a milestone, Chandrayaan 4 and 5 will follow,” Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh announced in a curtain raiser media interaction on the eve of the first National Space Day at the National Media Centre here. On August 23, 2023, India will become the fourth country to land on the surface of the Moon and the first to reach its south polar region.

To honor this historic achievement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared August 23 as “National Space Day”. India is celebrating its first National Space Day [NSPD-2024] on August 23, 2024 with the theme “Touching lives while touching the Moon: India’s Space Saga” at Bharat Mandapam, Plenary Hall in the august presence of the President of India.

He highlighted that the space sector received investments of over Rs 1,000 crore within a few months of collaboration with private partners. He emphasised on the role of startups and reiterated that the space sector had very few startups initially but now it has around 300 startups, many of which have global potential. He said, “ISRO organised several events in seven regions of our country.

Each zone hosted exhibitions, space science fairs and interactive sessions with scientists to showcase India's space journey. The events included satellite technology demonstrations, model rocketry workshops, virtual reality experiences of space missions, national-level competitions including the ISRO Robotics Challenge and the Indian Space Hackathon.”

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Author: Wendy Taylor