New Delhi/IBNS: India, a country of 1.4 billion people, is on Friday celebrating its first-ever National Space Day marking the nation's successful landing on the lunar surface.

In a game-changing feat in India's space exploration, the country's lunar mission Chandrayaan-3 successfully soft-landed on the South Polar region of the moon on this day last year.

The soft landing was a tricky and challenging task as it involved a series of complex manoeuvres that included rough and fine braking.

India is the fourth country to master the technology of soft-landing on the lunar surface after the US, China, and the erstwhile Soviet Union.

This was India's second attempt to land on the Moon after a failure in 2019.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has extended his heartfelt greetings to the nation on the occasion of the first National Space Day.

In a message shared on X, the Prime Minister expressed immense pride in India’s remarkable achievements in the space sector.

"Greetings to everyone on the first National Space Day. We recall with great pride our nation’s achievements in the space sector. It is also a day to laud the contributions of our space scientists," the Prime Minister Modi stated.

Highlighting the government’s commitment to advancing the space sector, the Prime Minister noted, "Our Government has taken a series of futuristic decisions relating to this sector and we will do even more in the times to come."