Independence Day 2023 Special: From Launch of India's First Satellite Aryabhata to Chandrayaan 3 and Mars Mission, List of ISRO's Major Achievements That Made India Proud

Mumbai, August 6: On August 15 this year, India will be celebrating its 77th Independence Day. Last year, India celebrated its 76th Independence Day which also marked the 75 years of India's Independence from British rule. The Independence Day will be celebrated with much fervour and gaiety across the country and different parts of the world. The theme for this year's Independence Day is "Nation First, Always First".

The Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre will be organising various events in line with the "Azadi ka Amrit Mohatsav" initiative to celebrate the special day. While the theme "Nation First, Always First" will be at the forefront of all celebrations on August 15, we take a look at how the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), our very own space agency kept the "Nation First, Always First" promise over the course of its formation on August 15, 1969, through its different achievements. Chandrayaan 3 First Video of Moon: ISRO Spacecraft Shares 1st Visuals of Moon During Lunar Orbit Insertion.

List of ISRO's achievements over the years:

Aryabhata's Launch:

Aryabhata was India's first satellite which was launched on April 19, 1975. Named after noted astronomer Aryabhata, the "Aryabhata" satellite was launched from Kapustin Yar, a Soviet rocket launch and development site in Astrakhan Oblast. The satellite was launched using a Kosmos-3M launch vehicle. Although the satellite was launched by the Soviet Union, the Aryabhata was built by ISRO. A notable fact about the "Aryabhata" satellite is that the satellite's photo was printed on the reverse of Rs 2 banknotes between 1976 and 1997.

Satellite Launch Vehicle:

After 1975, ISRO made tremendous developments but the most noted of them was the launch of India's very own Satellite Launch Vehicle also known as SLV-3 which was launched on July 18, 1980. The Satellite Launch Vehicle by the space agency put satellite Rohini into orbit. The placing of Rohini in orbit by SLV-3 made India the sixth member of the exclusive club of space-faring nations back then. Chandrayaan 1 Anniversary: Here's All About India's First Mission to Moon Launched by ISRO 12 Years Ago.

Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle

After SLV, ISRO's next big achievement was the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) which is India's third-generation launch vehicle. The PSLV is also the first launch vehicle which is equipped with liquid stages. Since its launch in October 1994, the PSLV has been successful in launching 48 Indian satellites and two spacecraft missions including the Chandrayaan-1 in 2008 and Mars Orbiter Spacecraft in 2013.

Chandrayaan 1

Chandrayaan 1 - India's first moon mission was successfully launched by ISRO in October 2008. It was ISRO's first unmanned lunar probe under the Chandrayaan programme. The Chandrayaan 1 spacecraft comprised of a lunar orbiter and an impactor. While the spacecraft completed over 3,400 orbits around the moon, the mission ended on a sad note as communication was lost with the spacecraft on August 29, 2009. However, Chandrayaan 1 managed to boost India's and ISRO's space program.

Mars Orbiter Mission or MOM

The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) also known as Mission Mangalyaan was India's interplanetary mission which was successfully launched in November 2013. The Mars Orbiter Mission reached Mars orbit in September 2014, nearly one year after its launch. Mission Mangalyaan made India the first country in the world to reach the orbit of Mars in its maiden attempt. The MOM mission also made India the fourth space agency in the world to reach Mars orbit, after Roscosmos, NASA, and the European Space Agency. Space Exploration Day 2023: Know Date, History and Significance of the Day That Celebrates the First Manned Mission to the Moon.

Chandrayaan 2

Chandrayaan 2 was ISRO's follow-up to the success of Chandrayaan 1. India's second lunar mission, Chandrayaan 2 was launched on July 22, 2019, with an orbiter, a lander named Vikram, and a rover named Pragyan. It was ISRO's first space mission to conduct a soft landing on the Moon's south polar region. However, the mission crashed when the soft landing attempt failed due to issues with the onboard computer and propulsion system.

Besides the above notable missions and achievements, ISRO created history when it successfully launched Chandrayaan-3, India’s third mission to the moon on July 14. The Chandrayaan-3 successfully entered into the lunar orbit on August 5 and is expected to make a soft landing on the moon by August 23. Did you know the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was formerly known as Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR)? It was set up by the Government of India in 1962 in line with scientist Vikram Sarabhai's vision to recognise the need for India's space research.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 07, 2023 06:30 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).