ISRO Chairman S. Somanath, MBU Chancellor M. Mohan Babu and Pro-Chancellor Vishnu Manchu particpating in the ‘National Space Day’ event in Tirupati on Thursday.

Over 1,000 students from across 30 colleges and 25 schools located in the vicinity of Mohan Babu University (MBU) turned attentive, even as Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman S. Somanath unleashed a new, scientifically-developed world in front of their eyes.

ISRO and National Atmospheric Research Laboratory (NARL–Gadanki) celebrated the ‘National Space Day 2024’ at the MBU campus, in A. Rangampet near Tirupati on Thursday. MBU hosted the event in quick succession after the successful launch of a High-Altitude Balloon Satellite (HABS), developed in partnership with ISRO and NARL.

Dr. S. Somanath explained that the occasion commemorated the first anniversary of Chandrayaan-3 mission’s successful soft landing on the moon’s southern polar region, an achievement that earned the title of ‘National Space Day’. He thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making the moment memorable by declaring it as ‘National Space Day’.

While thanking ISRO for choosing MBU for the mega events, MBU Chancellor M. Mohan Babu said the event reiterated the budding varsity’s commitment to fostering academic excellence. “This landmark event has not only celebrated India’s achievements in space, but also inspired our students to dream big and push the boundaries of what is possible”, he said.

Acknowledging ISRO’s initiative in reaching out to students, MBU Pro-Chancellor Vishnu Manchu said that such initiatives were essential in shaping the future of India’s space programme and thanked the organisation for making MBU a part of this journey.

SDSC-SHAR Director Dr. A. Rajarajan, NARL Director Dr. A.K. Patra and Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) Director Dr. Anil Bharadwaj, scientific and academic luminaries took part. The day featured an exhibition ‘Space on Wheels’, offering cutting-edge space technology experiences, virtual reality simulations of the lunar surface and thought-provoking lectures on interplanetary missions.