Launching the first National Space Day celebration at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, President Droupadi Murmu on Friday expressed confidence that India will make continuous progress in space science and continue to set new standards of excellence.

National Space Day is being celebrated to commemorate the successful landing of the ‘Vikram’ Lander on the surface of the Moon on August 23, 2023. The President also presented awards to winners of the ‘Robotics Challenge’ and ‘Bharatiya Antariksh Hackathon’.

Speaking on the occasion, she said that ISRO has had a wonderful journey since its initial days. It has made remarkable achievements in the space sector. Along with this, ISRO has also made invaluable contributions to the country’s social and economic development.

She appreciated the dedicated scientists who have placed India’s Space Program among the best Space Programs in the world by using minimum resources.

The President said the progress of India’s space sector is extraordinary. Be it a completed Mars mission with limited resources, or the successful launch of more than a hundred satellites at once, India has made many impressive achievements.

She said space exploration has increased the capabilities of human beings and transformed imagination into reality. But space exploration is a challenging task. Research conducted to solve the problems during space exploration accelerates the development of science and improves human life.

Many sectors have benefited from developments in the space sector, including health and medicine, transportation, security, energy, environment, and information technology.

The President pointed out that with the opening of the space sector to the private sector, the number of start-ups has increased at a very rapid pace. This has not only brought progress in space research but also given new opportunities to our youth to showcase and hone their talents.

She was happy to note that just a few months ago, an Indian company successfully launched a single-piece 3D printed semi-cryogenic engine-powered rocket, the first such achievement.

”We have to be prepared for future challenges. Space debris can cause problems for space missions,” she observed while appreciating the ‘ISRO System for Safe & Sustainable Operations Management’ facility which is being operated to ensure continuous progress of space research activities. She was also happy to note that India is moving forward to make all its space missions debris-free by the year 2030.