'Statio Shiv Shakti': IAU approves Chandrayaan-3 Vikram's landing site name
Chandrayaan-3's Vikram lander. This decision, announced on March 19, 2024, follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi's declaration on August 26, 2023, that the landing site would be named 'Shiva Shakti'.
The Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, which documents planetary names approved by the IAU, defines 'Statio Shiv Shakti' as a compound word from Indian mythology that represents the masculine (Shiva) and feminine (Shakti) duality of nature.
Modi made the announcement at the Isro Telemetry Tracking and Command Network (Istrac) in Bengaluru, where he underscored the significance of the names in connecting India from the Himalaya to Kanyakumari. He stated, "...In Shiva, there’s resolution for humanity’s welfare and Shakti gives us strength to fulfil those resolutions. This Shiva Shakti Point of Moon also gives a sense of connection with the Himalaya to Kanyakumari.”
The Gazetteer further explains that planetary nomenclature, like terrestrial nomenclature, is used to uniquely identify features on the surface of a planet or satellite. It contains detailed information about all names of topographic and albedo features on planets and satellites approved by the IAU since its founding in 1919.
The naming of 'Statio Shiv Shakti' marks another milestone in India's space exploration journey. Fifteen years prior to Chandrayaan-3's soft-landing, India's Chandrayaan-1's moon impact probe (MIP) had impacted on the lunar surface on November 14, 2008. The impact site was named 'Jawahar Point' or 'Jawahar Sthal'.
Modi had also
