ISRO chairman S Somanath says there was no need for a controversy over the naming of Chandrayaan-3 landing point on the moon as Shiv Shakti point

Kochi: Indian space research organisation (ISRO) chairman S Somanath on Sunday said that there was no need for a controversy over the naming of the Chandrayaan-3 landing point on the moon as ‘Shiv Shakti’ as Prime Minister Narendra Modi narrated the meaning of the word in a manner that suits everyone.

“The explanation that the honourable prime minister gave on ‘Shiv Shakti’, he represented it as a combination of man and woman, the contribution of women in ISRO and the need to create that kind of synergy in the organisation. So he narrated the meaning of the word in a manner that suits all of us. There is nothing wrong with that. He also gave the next name to ‘Tiranga’. Both are Indian-sounding names. He has a prerogative of naming it being the prime minister of the country,” Somanath told news agency ANI after offering prayers at a temple in Thiruvananthapuram.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said in Bengaluru that the point on the moon where the Chandrayaan-3 lander Vikram soft-landed would be named ‘Shiv Shakti’ and the spot where the Chandrayaan 2 crash-landed would be called ‘Tiranga’.

Somanath also told reporters that the idea of naming a spot on the moon on the basis of scientific achievements was not new and that other countries have also done so in the past.

“Already, there are many Indian names on the moon. Names of other countries are also there. We have a Sarabhai crater on the moon. When countries make scientific accomplishments, they mark those spots and name them. It’s a tradition,” he said.

The ISRO chairman and his team, on their first visit to Kerala after the successful Chandrayaan-3 mission, were given a reception at the Thiruvananthapuram airport on Saturday. On Sunday, Somanath offered prayers at the Pournamikavu Bhadrakali temple in Venganoor in Thiruvananthapuram.

When asked about holding both scientific thoughts and religious beliefs, he said, “I am an explorer. I explore the moon as well as the inner space. It’s part of the journey of my life to explore both science and spirituality. I visit many temples and I read scriptures. I try to find the meaning of our existence and the journey in this cosmos. It’s part of the culture we are built in to explore our inner and outer selves. For the outer self, I do science and for the inner, I come to temples.”

The ISRO chairman said that Aditya L-1, the space agency’s mission to study the Sun, is expected to be launched in the first week of September. “The spacecraft is ready and has been fitted with the PSLV rocket. The heat shield has been assembled and final testing is taking place,” he said.

As for the Chandrayaan-3 mission, he said that all parts of the lander and rover have operated smoothly so far without any glitches. The rover is still moving and two experiments have been conducted.

“The data that we have got from it is very interesting and will be the first-ever such information in the world. In the coming days, the scientists will talk to you about it,” he told reporters.

He said that the rover ‘Pragyan’ has been fitted with a sleeping circuit that will allow it to ‘sleep’ once the sunlight fades after 14 days on the lunar surface. “We will start a computer program and bring the rover into a sleeping mode, just like a computer. When the sunlight hits again after 14 days, it will get heated up and activate the computer program on its own to start working. If it works again, we are lucky as we will get 14 more days. There are risks involved as the temperature on the moon is extremely low. But we have done tests and are confident,” he said.