Applauding India’s achievements beyond the lunar surface, Dhankhar the VP reminded the House that India’s Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) had successfully reached the Red Planet on its maiden attempt in 2014.
Highlighting the recently launched Aditya-L1 mission and the upcoming Shukrayaan-1 mission to study Venus, the Vice-President said that the focus on planetary exploration and deep space missions was a natural extension of ISRO’s efforts to use space endeavours for addressing the country’s developmental needs.
Recognising ISRO’s strength of being able to achieve these feats at a “fraction of the cost when compared to major space agencies like NASA and ESA”, the Chairman emphasised that this cost-effectiveness is a result of its emphasis on indigenization and reducing reliance on imports.
Referring to the Indian Space Policy of 2023 as a “giant leap” towards a more innovative and economically robust future in space exploration, the vice president said that the entry of private enterprises into the realm of space exploration would be of great significance for India’s space ambitions.
Underlining that India’s achievements in the space sector have “catapulted the nation onto the global centre-stage”, the Vice-President lauded India’s space exploration journey as a matter of “national pride”.
“From Chandrayaan missions to the Moon, Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) and Aditya-Ll’s solar exploration, India has shown that the sky is not the limit; it’s just the beginning,” he stressed.
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