V. Narayanan, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), on Saturday described the Artemis II mission of US’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as “a great effort” and expressed confidence that it will lead to future human landings on the moon.

“I’m 100% sure that this mission will be a grand success, leading towards later landings on the moon,” Dr. Narayanan said of NASA’s first crewed lunar flyby in 50 years.

Dr. Narayanan was speaking to reporters after receiving the K.P.P. Nambiar Award 2025 instituted by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Kerala section.

Recalling the past human landings on the moon, Dr. Narayanan said the Artemis programme was a step towards repeating the feat.

In his award acceptance speech, Dr. Narayanan said ISRO was learning from the twin “setbacks” of the Polar satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) missions and would have everything back on track.

He said that by 2040, the nation’s space activities will be on a par with any other country in terms of launcher and spacecraft technologies, applications  and infrastructure.

“Multiple programmes” were currently underway, including the Gaganyaan programme and the Bharatiya Antariksh Station project. For a country that started its space programme in the 1960s at “LKG level” when other countries were putting humans into space and the moon, India’s space programme has grown exponentially, he said. Dr. Narayanan also underscored the need to increase the number of satellite launches to meet the nation’s requirements. Today, more than 400 startups are also working in the space sector, he pointed out.

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He dedicated the  K.P.P. Nambiar Award to the pace community of India.

Rajalakshmi Menon, Director General (Aero), Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) received IEEE’s Outstanding Woman Engineer Award. IEEE Kerala chapter office bearers B.S. Manoj and Chinmoy Saha also spoke.