ISRO Chairman S Somanath visited the Pournamikkavu Sree Balathripurasundari Devi temple in Venganoor, Thiruvananthapuram, shortly after Chandrayaan 3’s achievement. On August 27, he came to the temple to take part in a special puja.
Speaking to the media, the chairman asserted that it is ‘okay’ to refer to the location of Chandrayaan 3’s soft landing as “Shivashakthi.” Everyone can accept that name. The Prime Minister is fully entitled to make that choice. The Prime Minister gave the name “Thiranaga” to the area where Chandrayaan 2 landed. The Prime Minister has once again made the right decision.
According to the schedule, Chandrayaan 3 made a flawless landing at 6:04 p.m. on August 23. It came about as a result of a huge blessing. That is why he was in the temple, he claimed. He also said that his faith is a personal matter. It has no negative impact on science in any way. He was explaining the rationale for his devotion at the Pournamikkavu temple. There are two distinct fields of science and religion. No need to mix things together needlessly. He views spiritual journeys and experiments in much the same way as scientific ones.
The Chairman’s remarks served as a suitable retort to those with vested interests who object to the Prime Minister’s announcement of the names Shivashakthi and Thiranga.
According to Somanath, messages continue to arrive from Chandrayaan 3’s Pragyan Rover facility. The scientists will shortly offer further details in this regard. After the first 14 days, the moon will be completely dark. Those days will have extremely cold weather. The Rover’s linked computer will then be in sleep mode. It will continue to operate for another 14 days if Rover can withstand the weather. If so, it will be a significant victory for our nation.
When Chairman S Somanath and his party arrived at Thiruvananthapuram airport, they were greeted warmly. They were joined by their wife Valsala and other family members. ISRO chairman from Bengaluru was joined by LPSC Director Dr V Narayanan and VSSE Director Dr. Unnikrishnan Nair.
The ISRO Chairman’s visit to the temple served as another proof that science and religion can coexist together and without conflict. To put it another way, both scientists and believers can work and live as scientists. Faith, religion, and religious practises do not command its adherents to sit around and keep praying. The sole guideline that must be followed is to keep them apart and not combine them. S. Somanath has demonstrated to the entire world that faith and science may coexist without compromising either.
On the eve of the launch of Chandrayaan 3, an eight-person team of ISRO scientists visited the Thirupathi shrine for darshan. During the darshan, they carried a small replica of Chandrayaan-3 with them. It demonstrated the scientists’ fervent belief in a super power that governs the entire universe. However, there were certain citizens of our nation who could not stand it.
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