Shah, Rajnath congratulate ISRO for successful launch of India's first solar mission Aditya-L1

New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) Union Ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Saturday hailed the scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for successful launch of India's first solar mission Aditya-L1.

The ISRO on Saturday launched the country's ambitious solar mission Aditya L1, eyeing history again after its successful lunar expedition, Chandrayan-3, a few days ago.

Congratulating the scientists, Shah in a tweet said, "Time and again our scientists have proved their might and brilliance. The nation is proud and delighted over the successful launch of Aditya L1, India's first solar mission. Kudos to the team ISRO for this unparalleled accomplishment. It is a giant stride towards fulfilling Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji's vision of an Atmanirbhar Bharat in the space sector, during the Amrit Kaal."

Singh, who is the Defence Minister, in a series of tweets said, "It is a historic ‘Sun Day’ on Saturday for 1.4 billion Indians. Today, Aditya-L1, India's maiden solar mission has been successfully launched by ISRO."

The Defence Minister said that after the super success of Mission Chandrayaan3 and Mangalyaan, India is now heading towards the Sun.

"This successful launch is a massive milestone towards self-reliance in interplanetary space exploration. We are proud of our scientists. I congratulate the entire team of ISRO scientists led by Chairman S. Somnath on the successful launch of Aditya-L1," the Minister said.

He also hailed the leadership of the Prime Minister and said, "Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also played a pivotal role in taking India’s space programme to higher heights. His inspiring guidance has helped Team ISRO to strive for greater goals and achievements," Singh added.

Minister of State for Electronics and Technology, Chandrasekhar said, "Congratulating ISRO for the successful launch of PSLV C57/Aditya-L1, at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. It is the first space-based Indian observatory to study the Sun, another milestone for New India's space exploration journey."

Their remarks came after India launched its first mission to the Sun this morning, just days after becoming the first country in history to achieve a soft landing of a spacecraft on the Moon’s uncharted south pole.

The Aditya-L1 spacecraft is an unmanned observation satellite that India’s space agency (ISRO) wants to use to monitor the Sun’s activities, and learn more about how these impact space weather phenomena such as solar storms.