PM Narendra Modi

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said two important lessons people can learn from the Chandrayaan-2 mission are "faith and fearlessness" as he praised Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) scientists for fixing a glitch in GSLV-MkIII rocket carrying the lunar craft in record time recently.

In his second radio address 'Mann Ki Baat' after assuming charge as PM for the second term, Modi said, "It (Chandrayaan-2) has once again been proved that when it comes to exploring new, innovative zeal, our scientists are the best in the world. We must have faith in our talent and capacity. The second important lesson is not to get disheartened by hurdles. The way our scientists corrected all technical issues by working day and night and launching Chandrayaan-2 in record time is unprecedented. We all face temporary setbacks in our lives but the capacity to overcome them is also within us."

Surprised that the date of moon landing remains unchanged despite the launch getting delayed by seven days, the PM said, "Many are amazed that despite the snag delaying the launch, the day of completion (moon landing) of the mission was not changed. We all must be proud of it. Now, we eagerly await for September when lander Vikram and rover Pragyan will land on Moon's surface." He said that Chandrayaan-2 is special in various ways. "It will broaden our understanding of Moon and it is entirely an indigenous mission," he said.

The PM also announced a unique Chandrayaan quiz for youth. "Facts about space, India's space mission and matters of science and technology will be the main focus of this quiz. Details of the quiz will be given on mygov website on August 1. Students with maximum scores from each state will be taken to Sriharikota at the government's expense in September and they will be able to witness the historic event of landing of Chandrayaan-2 on Moon. I appeal to all schools, parents and teachers to make effort to make their school winners in this quiz."

On the anti-satellite (A-sat) missile launch in March, Modi said, "From the point of view of space, 2019 has been very good for India. Our scientists launched A-sat in March, followed by Chandrayaan-2. In the hustle and bustle of elections, the A-sat launch did not get much publicity. With the A-Sat missile, we have acquired capability to hit a satellite 300 km away, in just 3 minutes. India has become the fourth country in the world to acquire this capability."

Since his first term, PM Modi had been giving special impetus on the development of indigenous space technologies and their use in civic projects. In fact, Modi has asked all ministries and government departments to use space applications for effective implementation of infrastructure projects like road construction, construction of railway lines, setting up security apparatus in a cost-effective way.



In Video: Mann Ki Baat: PM Narendra Modi hails Chandrayaan-2 launch