The International Astronomical Union (IAU) working group for Planetary System Nomenclature has approved the name ‘Statio Shiv Shakti’ for the landing site of Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram lander.
- On August 26, 2023 Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the point where the moon lander of Chandrayaan-3 touched down will be called ‘Shiv Shakti’.
Key points
- Planetary nomenclature, like terrestrial nomenclature, is used to uniquely identify a feature on the surface of a planet or satellite so that it can be easily located, described, and discussed.
- The IAU is the internationally recognised authority for assigning names to planetary surface features. It follows some rules and conventions to do so.
- The Astrogeology Science Centre of the U.S. Geological Survey maintains the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature on behalf of the IAU.
- IAU’s Rule 9 states: “No names having political, military or religious significance may be used, except for names of political figures prior to the 19th century.
