New Delhi, Oct 15 (IANS): The government on Saturday said that August 23, the day when Chandrayaan-3 landed on the South Pole of the Moon, would be marked as National Space Day.

The decision has been taken to commemorate the historic moment, a notification issued by the department of space dated October 13, said.

"India has become the fourth nation in the world to land a spacecraft on the moon and the first to land near the south pole of the lunar surface. The Vikram lander had also deployed the Pragyan rover on the moon to study the lunar surface.

"The outcome of this historic mission will benefit mankind in the years to come," the notification said.

It added that August 23 marked an important milestone in the country's advancements in space missions, which inspired younger generations towards enhanced interest in pursuing STEM and provided a major impetus to the Space sector.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his visit to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) headquarters in Bengaluru on August 26, had made the announcement to observe August 23 as National Space Day.