In Odisha, five newborns named after India’s moon mission

On Wednesday, India scripted history by becoming the first country to land on the south pole of the lunar surface. The Chandrayaan 3’s Vikram lander made a soft landing on the south pole at 6:04pm

India on Wednesday celebrated the successful moon landing by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), with parents of at least five children born in Odisha’s Kendrapara district naming their newborns after the mission.

Animated representation of Vikram Lander’s successful soft landing on the Moon’s surface (File)

Minutes after Chandrayaan-3’s smooth landing on the moon, Ranu Mallick of Aripada village gave birth to a son while Durga Mandal of Talachua village gave birth to a baby girl in Kendrapara government hospital.

Jyotsnarani Bal of Nilakanthapur and Bebina Sethi of Angelei village gave birth to sons in Kendrapara government hospital. Damayanti Rout gave birth to a son in a private nursing home. They all named their newborns after the ISRO’s moon mission– Chandrayaan-3.

“All the mothers have decided to name their children Chandrayaan,” said Anjana Sahoo, head nurse at Kendrapara government hospital.

“I am delighted. As our baby was born a few minutes after the successful landing of Chandrayaan on the moon, we decided to name him after the mission,” said Pravat Mallick, Ranu’s husband.

In the past, parents have named their newborns after natural disasters. In May 2021, several parents named newborns after Yaas, the cyclone that battered the eastern coast. Similarly, in October 2018, several families in Ganjam, Jagatsinghpur and Nayagarh named their newborn daughters Titli because they were born at the time of a severe cyclone on the coast.

On Wednesday, India scripted history by becoming the first country to land on the south pole of the lunar surface. The Chandrayaan 3’s Vikram lander made a soft landing on the south pole at 6:04pm.

ISRO tweeted: “Chandrayaan-3 Mission: ‘India, I reached my destination and you too!’ Chandrayaan-3 has successfully soft-landed on the moon! Congratulations, India!”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday expressed gratitude to ISRO and the world leaders for their wishes on Chandrayaan-3’s successful moon landing.

The crucial mission’s monumental success comes nearly four years after Chandrayaan 2 failed to achieve a soft landing on the moon in September 2019.