International Astronomical Union approves Chandrayaan-3 landing site name ‘Shiva Shakti’

Bengaluru, March 25

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has approved the Chandrayaan-3 landing site name ‘Shiva Shakti’.

The approval came on March 19 after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement following the success of the mission on August 26, 2023.

“IAU working group for Planetary System Nomenclature has approved the name station ‘Shiv Shakti’ for the landing site of Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram lander,” the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, which provides detailed information about planetary names by IAU, said.

The announcement defined the origin of the name as a compound word from Indian mythology that depicts masculine (Shiva) and feminine (Shakti) duality of nature.

On August 28, 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced at ISRO that the landing point of the Chandrayaan-3 Mission would be known as “Shiv Shakti Point”.

While the Chandrayaan-2 landing failure spot will be called “Tiranga point”, the day of the touchdown of the Vikram Lander on the Moon (August 23) will be celebrated as “National Space Day” in the country, Modi had stated.