ISRO Chief V. Narayanan Recalls Milestones of India’s Lunar and Mars Missions on National Space Day

By A Staff Reporter

New Delhi: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman V. Narayanan on Saturday reflected on the milestones of India’s space programme while addressing an event at Bharat Mandapam to mark National Space Day. Tracing the journey from early lunar missions to planetary exploration, Narayanan credited successive ISRO leadership teams for their role in advancing the country’s space capabilities.

Recalling Chandrayaan-1, he noted that the mission not only succeeded but made the historic discovery of water molecules on the Moon, cementing India’s place in global lunar research. On Chandrayaan-2, he pointed out that while a soft landing was not achieved, the mission deployed one of India’s most advanced cameras into lunar orbit, producing valuable scientific data. Narayanan attributed this to the leadership of then ISRO Chairman K. Sivan and the contributions of the mission team.

He further highlighted the success of Chandrayaan-3 under the leadership of Dr. S. Somanath, which secured India’s position as the first country to achieve a landing on the Moon’s South Pole. Narayanan also recalled the Mars Orbiter Mission, India’s maiden interplanetary project, which succeeded in its very first attempt under Dr. K. Radhakrishnan.