After the roaring success of the Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman S Somanath said that India possesses the capabilities to undertake more interplanetary missions, highlighting that the space agencys primary objective is the overall progress of the country through the growth of the space sector.S Somanath, who arrived at the international airport in Keralas capital Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday night, said that Prime Minister Narendra Modis long-term vision for Indias space sector is set to be realised, with ISRO fully prepared to execute it.Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flew directly from Greece to Bengaluru to pay tribute to the ISRO scientists after the groundbreaking success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission.#WATCH | Bengaluru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets ISRO chief S Somanath and congratulates him for the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon pic.twitter.com/J8cRsftwv2— ANI (@ANI) August 26, 2023“As far as we are concerned, not just the soft landing, but the entire aspects of the Chandrayaan-3 were 100 per cent successful. The entire country is proud of it and extending support to us,” Somanath told reporters on Saturday.Somanath expressed pride in being part of ISROs remarkable achievement, urging the public to continue their support for the agencys future endeavours. “We are capable to travel more to Moon, Mars or Venus… But, we have to enhance our confidence for that… besides that there should be more investment as well,” he said.“Our space sector should be expanded further contributing to the overall progress of the country and that is the objective of ISRO,” he added.ISRO chief S Somanath reveals plans for Aditya-L1 mission to study SunRegarding the Aditya-L1 mission, the first Indian space-based observatory for studying the Sun, Somanath revealed that the satellite is ready and has reached Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.The launch is expected to take place in the first week of September, with the exact date set to be announced within two days.#WATCH | To study Sun, we have planned Aditya-L1 mission and it is ready…there is a possibility that it will be launched on 2nd September, says Nilesh M. Desai, the Director of Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad pic.twitter.com/Hkirjn0AZn— ANI (@ANI) August 26, 2023“After the launch, it will take 125 days from the earth to reach Lagrange point 1 (L1). We have to wait till then,” Somanath said.Somanath also revealed that both the rover and the lander of Chandrayaan-3 have captured images from the lunar surface. The ISRO team anticipates receiving more high-quality images in the coming days, as they concentrate on scientific studies and research pertaining to the Moon.After the successful landing of ISROs Chandrayaan-3 Lander Module on the lunar surface, India became only the fourth country to accomplish this feat and the first to reach the previously uncharted Lunar South Pole.Prime Minister Modi designated the landing site of Chandrayaan-3s Vikram lander as Shiv Shakti Point, while the site where the Chandrayaan-2 lander crash-landed in 2019 was named Tiranga Point. Additionally, the Prime Minister proclaimed that August 23 would henceforth be celebrated as National Space Day.
