New Delhi: Space Exploration Day is celebrated on July 20 every year as it was on this day for the first time in history that a human landed and walked on the surface of another planet.
Taking to social media X, the National Air and Space Museum posted, "On this day in 1969, the Apollo 11 astronauts were on their way to the Moon. The crew consisted of Commander Neil Armstrong, command module pilot Michal Collins, and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin."
According to the National Space Society website, "Space Exploration Day commemorates the July 20 anniversary of man's first historic landing and walking on the surface of another celestial body. What had once been a topic for science fiction stories, had become an awe-inspiring reality, sending astronauts to the Moon increased mankind’s sense of dignity and self-worth." Over the period, several countries explored space and got the desired results.
As per the Department of Space, Government of India, India Space Research Organisation achieved the historic milestone of landing the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft near the South Pole of the Moon. India has become the first country in the globe to accomplish this. Besides this, several other space missions were done by the India government these are:
Chandrayaan-3 Landing: On August 23, 2023, Chandrayaan-3 lander, Vikram, successfully soft-landed on the Moon, Subsequently, the rover, Pragyan, ramped down on the lunar surface. Over the next few days, several experiments, such as measurement of near-surface plasma content, presence of mineral elements, temperature profile of the lunar topsoil, etc. were conducted by the onboard payloads.
Second Developmental Flight of SSLV-D2/EOS-07 Mission: The second developmental flight of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV), SSLV-D2 was successfully launched on February 10, 2023, from the first launch pad at SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota. SSLV-D2 injected EOS-07, Janus-1 and AzaadiSAT-2 satellites into the 450 km circular orbit, in its 15 minutes flight.
LVM3 M3/OneWeb Mission: The second commercial mission of LVM3 M3/ OneWeb India-2 Mission was successfully accomplished on March 26, 2023, placing 36 OneWeb satellites into their intended orbit. With this, NSIL successfully executed its contract to launch 72 satellites of OneWeb to Low Earth Orbit.
RLV LEX Mission: ISRO demonstrated the Reusable Launch Vehicle Autonomous Landing Mission (RLV LEX) on April 2, 2023, at the Aeronautical Test Range (ATR), Chitradurga, Karnataka. The autonomous landing was carried out under the exact conditions of a Space Re-entry vehicle's landing "high speed, unmanned, precise landing from the same return path" as if the vehicle arrived from space.
Gaganyaan Service Module Hot tests: ISRO successfully tested the Gaganyaan Service Module Propulsion System (SMPS) on July 19, 2023, at ISRO Propulsion Complex, Mahendragiri.
Aditya-L1 Mission: On September 2, 2023, Aditya-L1 spacecraft- India’s first solar observatory was launched on board PSLV C57. Aditya L1 is the first space-based Indian mission to study the Sun.
