National Space Day 2024: From Mangalyaan To Chandrayaan, A Look Back At India's Space Achievements

As India observes National Space Day 2024, let us take a look at stellar accomplishments of ISRO. From scratch to space giant, ISRO has been breaking limits and doing wonders in sci-tech world on a global level, bringing India among top nations in this domain.

Chandrayaan

Chandrayaan program is one of most celebrated achievements in ISRO history. India's first voyage to Moon began on October 22, 2008. mission h put India in a group of fifth nations to have orbited Moon, but also come across something unprecedented — presence of water molecules on its surface.

Chandrayaan-2 

Chandrayaan-1 was followed by anor mission- Chandrayaan-2, which launched on July 22, 2019, to continue India's lunar exploration ambitions. While mission's lander, Vikram did attempt to contact during descent but ultimately crash-landed on Moon; yet orbiter h with valuable data and was successfully running for enhancement of our understanding of moon.

ISRO did not stop re. Chandrayaan-3 on 23 August, 2023 created history by becoming first spacecraft ever to land safely in lunar south pole region. Pragyan rover was also commissioned, making India fourth country to operate a robotic rover on Moon's surface. PM Modi dedicated to celebrating National Space Day on August 23 every year in acknowledgement of Chandrayaan-3 success.

Mangalyaan

Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) by ISRO was looked up on as potential and cost-effective approach to space exploration. India became first country to reach Mars on its maiden attempt and only fourth space agency in world, at that time. Launched on November 5, 2013, Mangalyaan was carried by PSLV-C25 into parking Earth orbit from where it began cruising towards Martian atmosphere after a month-long recce of atmospheric conditions aboard Earth's topography mapping satellite RISAT-1 Amazingly, this feat was achieved on a $74 million-sized budget. Mangalyaan, one of most lucrative interplanetary missions ever undertaken NASA's orbiter is still taking measurements, Mangalyaan orbits Mars. data it collects furr shows hints of Martian atmosphere and surface, greatly ding to global Mars research.

Gaganyaan

ISRO’s Gaganyaan mission, set to launch in 2024, is an ambitious project that aims to send Indian astronauts into space aboard an indigenous spacecraft, making India one of few nations capable of human spaceflight. Gaganyaan’s success will not only demonstrate India’s technological prowess but also open new avenues for human space exploration, including potential manned missions to Moon and beyond.