Speaking on the successful lunar mission, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had just concluded his trips to BRICS and Greece, highlighted that ISRO’s scientists had successfully expanded the ‘Make in India’ initiative to reach the lunar landscape.
Also Read: ISRO Chairman appeals for unity over ‘Shiv Shakti’ name for Chandrayaan-3 landing site on Moon
“Today, I am feeling a different level of happiness… such occasions are very rare… this time, I was so restless… I was in South Africa but my mind was with you,” Modi said at the ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network Mission Control Complex on Saturday.
The prime minister also announced that “it’s convention to name the spot of the touchdown on the moon. And India too has now decided to name the point where Vikram Lander touched down. That point will now be known as ‘Shiv Shakti Point’.”
How are spots on the Moon named?
According to the Outer Space Treaty formulated by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, the Moon explicitly indicates that“outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means.”
Consequently, no nation holds the right to assert ownership over celestial bodies, the Moon included. As highlighted by Alexander Soucek, who serves as the head of public international law at the European Space Agency, in a DW report, “A nation can plant a flag on the moon, but it doesn’t have any legal meaning or consequence.”
Also Read: What is ‘Shivshakti Point’? India’s lunar landing site on moon’s South Pole
Meanwhile, regarding the identification of lunar features, the task of naming specific areas on the Moon falls under the jurisdiction of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), an organization established in 1919, dedicated to regulating nomenclature for planets and their satellites.
Regarding the procedure of naming, the IAU website explains that upon acquiring initial images of a planet’s or satellite’s surface, fresh themes for labelling features are selected. Subsequently, a selection of significant features’ names is put forth, often through collaboration between the relevant IAU Task Group and the mission team.
Once the protocols are adhered to, the Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN) within the IAU takes on the responsibility of endorsing the suggested names in such instances. Following a thorough assessment and subsequent vote by WGPSN members, the proposed names gain approval as official IAU nomenclature. These sanctioned names are subsequently utilized on maps and within publications, as elaborated on the website.
However, the procedure for name approval is notably time-intensive. As an illustration, during the year 2020, China’s lunar mission, Chang’e 5, successfully touched down on the lunar surface, and the designated location was designated as “Statio Tianchuan.”
Also Read: What is ‘Jawahar point’ on Moon and its connection with Chandrayaan-1
The term ‘Statio’ originates from Latin, signifying a post or station, and is also employed in the formal title of NASA’s Apollo 11 landing site, “Statio Tranquillitatis,” as noted by Space.com. On the other hand, ‘Tianchuan’ was derived from a Chinese constellation name, representing a ship sailing through the Milky Way. It is noteworthy that the IAU granted approval for this name only in May 2021.
In the matter of assigning names to lunar locations, whether they are landing sites or craters, the IAU has established specific guidelines and regulations. The IAU stipulates that the names ought to be “simple, clear, and unambiguous,” while also ensuring that they do not replicate names that already exist.
Also Read: ‘Rename Moon as Hindu Rashtra’: Seer faces backlash for ‘childish’ demand | WATCH
Additionally, names must avoid any political, military, or religious implications, with the exception of names associated with political figures from before the 19th Century.
The IAU website explicitly outlines this criterion, “Commemoration of persons on planetary bodies should not normally be a goal in itself, but may be employed in special circumstances… Persons being so honoured must have been deceased for at least three years, before a proposal may be submitted.”
(With inputs from agencies)
Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
Updated: 28 Aug 2023, 12:48 PM IST