Statio Shiv Shakti

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Statio Shiva Shakti
Chandrayaan3-landed.jpg
Chandrayaan-3 lander on Shiva Shakti Point; photographed by Pragyan rover
Image of Chandrayaan-3 Lander captured by OHRC camera aboard Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter.webp
Image of Chandrayaan-3 lander captured by OHRC camera aboard Chandrayaan-2 orbiter
TypeExtraterrestrial landing site
LocationArea between Manzinus C and Simpelius N craters, Moon [1]
Coordinates 69°22′23″S32°19′08″E / 69.373°S 32.319°E / -69.373; 32.319
Founded
  • Announced: August 26, 2023
  • IAU Approved: March 19, 2024
Founder Flag of India.svg Chandrayaan-3

Statio Shiv Shakti or Shiv Shakti Point is the landing site of Chandrayaan-3, the third lunar mission of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The mission's lander Vikram and rover Pragyan landed 600 km from the south pole of the Moon on 23 August 2023. [2] [3] [4] The landing site was named on 26 August 2023 at the ISTRAC headquarters in Bengaluru, [5] after India became the fourth nation to make a successful soft landing on the Moon and also becoming the first country that landed on the lunar south pole. [note 1] Statio Shiv Shakti is located at the coordinates 69°22′23″S32°19′08″E / 69.373°S 32.319°E / -69.373; 32.319 [8] [9] and lies between the lunar craters Manzinus C and Simpelius N. [10] It has been proposed that the upcoming sample-return mission Chandrayaan-4 also land near the point. [11]

Contents

Name

The name Shiv Shakti is derived from the names of Hindu deities Shiva, who is also associated with the Moon, and Shakti, the divine feminine energy, who is often depicted as the consort of Shiva. [12]

Announcement

The landing point of Chandrayaan-3 is named after the Hindu deities Shiva & Shakti An Oleograph of Shiva, Parvati and Nandi by Raja Ravi Varma.jpg
The landing point of Chandrayaan-3 is named after the Hindu deities Shiva & Shakti

The name was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 26, 2023 while meeting ISRO scientists in Bangalore. [13] Prime Minister Modi noted that the selection of "Shiva-Shakti" was based on concept of "Shiva" as humanity's determination and "Shakti" as the capability to actualize these humanitarian ambitions, while further noting that "Shakti" is also a tribute to the women scientists. [14] [15]

On 19 March 2024, the International Astronomical Union Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature has approved the name Statio Shiv Shakti for the landing site of Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram lander. [16] [17] [18]

Reaction

The naming of the landing site as "Shiv Shakti" drew criticism from certain sections of opposition political parties as the site was named after Hindu deities. [19] However the government countered the criticisms by stating that the hard landing site of Chandrayaan-1 was named after India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. [20]

ISRO chairman S. Somanath said that there is no need for controversy over the naming as governments are allowed to name sites on lunar surface [21] [22] and that there have been precedents of names being assigned to lunar features. "It's not the first time such name has been given. Indian names are already there. We have a Sarabhai Crater on the Moon. Each country can give their names. Naming is a tradition. There is no controversy over the matter," he said. [23] Former ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair also echoed this and said that the whole controversy was completely based on 'misinterpretation'. He said 'shakti' refers to the 'force' that is behind the creation of this universe. "Our pandits and rishis named it Shiva. Our Puranas gave it a form as people could not understand the concept of the force, and that is how the human form and Kailasa all came. It is a different matter. This underlying principle is known as 'shakti' and we do not have to attribute religious motives to it" he concluded. [24]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lander (spacecraft)</span> Type of spacecraft

A lander is a spacecraft that descends towards, then comes to rest on the surface of an astronomical body other than Earth. In contrast to an impact probe, which makes a hard landing that damages or destroys the probe upon reaching the surface, a lander makes a soft landing after which the probe remains functional.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ISRO</span> Indias national space agency

Indian Space Research Organisation is India's national space agency. It operates as the principal research and development arm of the Department of Space (DoS), which is directly overseen by the Prime Minister of India, with the Chairman of ISRO also serving as the chief executive of the DoS. ISRO has the world's largest constellation of remote-sensing satellites and operates the GAGAN and IRNSS (NavIC) satellite navigation systems. It has sent three missions to the Moon and one to Mars. ISRO is primarily responsible for space-based operations, space exploration, international space cooperation and the development of related technologies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chandrayaan-1</span> First lunar orbiter of Indias Chandrayaan Programme

Chandrayaan-1 was the first Indian lunar probe under the Chandrayaan programme. It was launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in October 2008, and operated until August 2009. The mission included an orbiter and an impactor. India launched the spacecraft using a PSLV-XL rocket on 22 October 2008 at 00:52 UTC from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. The mission was a major boost to India's space program, as India researched and developed indigenous technology to explore the Moon. The vehicle was inserted into lunar orbit on 8 November 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moon landing</span> Arrival of a spacecraft on the Moons surface

A Moon landing or lunar landing is the arrival of a spacecraft on the surface of the Moon, including both crewed and robotic missions. The first human-made object to touch the Moon was Luna 2 in 1959.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rover (space exploration)</span> Space exploration vehicle designed to move across the surface of a planet or other celestial body

A rover is a planetary surface exploration device designed to move over the rough surface of a planet or other planetary mass celestial bodies. Some rovers have been designed as land vehicles to transport members of a human spaceflight crew; others have been partially or fully autonomous robots. Rovers are typically created to land on another planet via a lander-style spacecraft, tasked to collect information about the terrain, and to take crust samples such as dust, soil, rocks, and even liquids. They are essential tools in space exploration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chandrayaan-2</span> Ongoing Indian lunar orbiter mission

Chandrayaan-2 is the second lunar exploration mission developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) after Chandrayaan-1. It consists of a lunar orbiter, the Vikram lunar lander, and the Pragyan rover, all of which were developed in India. The main scientific objective is to map and study the variations in lunar surface composition, as well as the location and abundance of lunar water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moon Impact Probe</span> Lunar robotic craft developed by ISRO

The Moon Impact Probe (MIP) developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), India's national space agency, was a lunar probe that was released by ISRO's Chandrayaan-1 lunar remote sensing orbiter which in turn was launched, on 22 October 2008, aboard a modified version of ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. It discovered the presence of water on the Moon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lunar rover</span> Vehicle that travels on the Moons surface

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chandrayaan programme</span> Indian Lunar exploration programme

The Chandrayaan programme also known as the Indian Lunar Exploration Programme is an ongoing series of outer space missions by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) for the exploration of the Moon. The program incorporates a lunar orbiter, an impactor, a soft lander and a rover spacecraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jawahar Point</span> Moon Impact Probes hard landing site

Jawahar Point or Jawahar Sthal is the site near the Shackleton Crater where the Moon Impact Probe (MIP) of the Chandrayaan-1 hard landed on lunar surface on 14 November 2008. The name was suggested by India's former President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam as the MIP touched the Moon on the birth anniversary of India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">S. Somanath</span> Indian aerospace engineer

Sreedhara Panicker Somanath is an Indian aerospace engineer serving as the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Under his chairmanship, ISRO carried out the third Indian lunar exploration mission named Chandrayaan-3. The lander named Vikram and the rover named Pragyan landed near the lunar south pole region on 23 August 2023 at 18:04 IST, making India the first country to successfully land a spacecraft near the lunar south pole and the fourth country to demonstrate soft landing on the Moon. This landing gained India a proud history.

<i>Pragyan</i> (Chandrayaan-3) Indian lunar rover

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The Lunar Polar Exploration Mission (LUPEX) is a planned joint lunar mission by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The mission would send an uncrewed lunar lander and rover to explore the south pole region of the Moon no earlier than 2026. It is envisaged to explore the permanently shadowed regions on the Moon. JAXA is likely to provide the H3 launch vehicle and the rover, while ISRO would be providing the lander.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chandrayaan-3</span> Indian lunar lander mission

Chandrayaan-3 is the third mission in the Chandrayaan programme, a series of lunar-exploration missions developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The mission consists of a Vikram lunar lander and a Pragyan lunar rover was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre on 14 July 2023. The spacecraft entered lunar orbit on 5 August, and India became the first country to touch down near the lunar south pole, at 69°S, the southernmost lunar landing on 23 August 2023 at 18:03 IST, made ISRO the fourth space agency to successfully land on the Moon, after USSR, NASA and the CNSA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chandrayaan-4</span> Indian lunar sample-return mission

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Shivashakti or Sivasakthi is a compound name in which Shiva is the identified masculine consciousness and Shakti is the identified feminine divine energy. It may refer to:

The Tiranga Point is a location on the Moon near the lunar south pole where Chandrayaan-2's lander Vikram crashed. The site was named on 26 August 2023 at the ISTRAC headquarters in Bengaluru. It is located on the coordinates 70.8810°S 22.7840°E and it lies between Manzinus C and Simpelius N craters.

<i>Pragyan</i> (Chandrayaan-2) Indian lunar rover

Pragyan is a lunar rover that forms part of Chandrayaan-2, a lunar mission developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The rover was launched as part of Chandrayaan-2 on 22 July 2019 and was destroyed with its lander, Vikram, when it crashed on the Moon on 6 September 2019.

References

  1. ↑ "India launches Chandrayaan-3 mission to the lunar surface". Physicsworld. 14 July 2023. Archived from the original on 17 July 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  2. ↑ Koshy, Jacob (August 25, 2023). "Explained | Why did Chandrayaan-3 land on the near side of the moon?". The Hindu– via www.thehindu.com.
  3. ↑ Kumar, Sanjay (23 August 2023). "India makes history by landing spacecraft near Moon's south pole". Science.org. Archived from the original on 24 August 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  4. ↑ "Chandrayaan-3 launch on 14 July, lunar landing on 23 or 24 August". The Hindu . 6 July 2023. ISSN   0971-751X. Archived from the original on 11 July 2023. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  5. ↑ "Modi in Bengaluru Live Updates: Touchdown point of Vikram lander will be known as 'Shivshakti', says PM". The Indian Express. 2023-08-25. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
  6. ↑ Karanam, Durga Prasad; Bhatt, Megha; A, Amitabh; G, Ambily; Sathyan, Sachana; Misra, Dibyendu; Srivastava, Neeraj; Bhardwaj, Anil (2023-08-03). "Contextual Characterisation Study of Chandrayaan-3 Primary Landing Site". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters. doi: 10.1093/mnrasl/slad106 . ISSN   1745-3925.
  7. ↑ "LVM3-M4/CHANDRAYAAN-3 MOON MISSION" (PDF). isro.gov.in.
  8. ↑ "Mission homepage". Archived from the original on 23 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  9. ↑ Chandrayaan 3 - After The Landing What Happens Next?, 27 August 2023, retrieved 2023-08-28
  10. ↑ "India launches Chandrayaan-3 mission to the lunar surface". Physicsworld. 14 July 2023. Archived from the original on 17 July 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  11. ↑ "Chandrayaan-4's landing site on the Moon revealed". India Today. 2024-05-13. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  12. ↑ "PM addresses Team ISRO on success of Chandrayaan-3". 26 August 2023.
  13. ↑ "Chandrayaan-3's Touchdown Point To Be Called Shiv Shakti: PM Modi At ISRO". NDTV. 26 August 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  14. ↑ "What is 'Shivshakti Point'? India's lunar landing site on moon's South Pole". Live Mint. 28 August 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  15. ↑ Sharmila Kuthunur (2023-08-29). "India to name Chandrayaan-3's moon landing site 'Shiv Shakti Point'". Space.com. Retrieved 2023-09-15.
  16. ↑ Kumar, Chethan (2024-03-24). "It's official: Chandrayaan-3 landing site name 'Shiva Shakti' gets IAU nod". The Times of India . Archived from the original on 25 March 2024. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  17. ↑ "Chandrayaan-3's landing site name 'Statio Shiv Shakti' approved by IAU". Mint . 2024-03-24. Archived from the original on 25 March 2024. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  18. ↑ "'Statio Shiv Shakti': IAU approves Chandrayaan-3 Vikram's landing site name". The Economic Times. 2024-03-24. ISSN   0013-0389 . Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  19. ↑ "Chandrayaan 3's Landing Site Sparks Controversy, Opposition Questions Shiv Shakti Point | Top News". TimesNow. 2023-08-26. Retrieved 2023-09-05.
  20. ↑ "Shiv Shakti vs Jawahar point: Naming of Chandrayaan-3 touchdown site sparks row". India Today. 26 August 2023. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  21. ↑ "Shiv Shakti, Jawahar Sthal: How are spots on the Moon named?". Firstpost. 2023-08-28. Retrieved 2023-09-05.
  22. ↑ Sharma, Shashikant (August 27, 2023). "No controversy, it was PM's prerogative: ISRO chief on row over Shiv Shakti Point". The Statesman .
  23. ↑ "No controversy on naming Chandrayaan-3 landing point as 'Shiv Shakti': ISRO chairman". The New Indian Express. 27 August 2023. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  24. ↑ ""Even Einstein Referred...": G Madhavan Nair On Temple Visits By Scientists". NDTV.com. Retrieved 2023-08-29.

Notes

  1. ↑ Often reported in media as "polar region", the landing site of Chandrayaan-3 is actually outside the Lunar Antarctic circle (80ºS). ISRO scientists involved in selecting and characterizing the landing site call it a “high-latitude location". [6] or "near polar region" [7]
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