📖 Chapter 5 of 10 · Mysterious Space- Basic 1 · Class 5–6
Chapter 5: Who Sends Rockets in India?
What is ISRO?
ISRO is India's own space team. Its full name is the Indian Space Research Organisation. Indian scientists at ISRO build our rockets and spacecraft and send them into space. India makes its own rockets — we do not buy them from other countries.
What did India do at the Moon?
In the year 2023, India's spacecraft Chandrayaan-3 landed safely near the south pole of the Moon — a place no other country had reached before. ISRO's machines also help us on the ground, by studying the weather, guiding boats, and carrying television and telephone signals.
Story Time — The Day the Whole Class Cheered
Fatima · Lucknow
It was an ordinary school afternoon in Lucknow, until the teacher brought in a large screen. “Today, children, is not an ordinary day,” she said, her eyes shining. “Today India is trying to land a spacecraft on the Moon. Let us watch together.”
The whole class gathered close. On the screen, far away, India's Chandrayaan-3 was slowly and carefully coming down towards the grey surface of the Moon. The room grew completely silent. Fatima held her breath.
The numbers counted down. The spacecraft floated lower, and lower, and then it touched the Moon and came to rest, safe and steady. For a moment, no one moved. Then the whole class rose up, clapping and cheering. Their teacher wiped away a happy tear.
“We have done it,” the teacher said. “We — India — have landed near the south pole of the Moon, where no other country had reached.” Fatima felt a warm pride fill her chest. “Teacher, who is ‘we’? Who sent it?”
“A team of Indian scientists called ISRO, the Indian Space Research Organisation,” the teacher said. “For many years they worked, and dreamed, and tried again and again. Some of them were once children like you, who looked up at the Moon and wondered.”
That evening Fatima looked up at the Moon shining over Lucknow, and it seemed closer and friendlier now. Somewhere up there rested a small Indian spacecraft. “One day,” she said quietly, “perhaps I will help build one too.”
Story Time — Made in India, Going to Space
Dev · Bengaluru
Dev lived in Bengaluru, the very city where many of ISRO's scientists work. His mother was an engineer, and one Sunday she took him to a science centre filled with models of India's rockets and spacecraft.
Dev stood before a tall model of a rocket, tilting his head all the way back. “Amma, did our scientists really make all of this?” “They did,” she said. “Right here, with knowledge, patience and years of hard work. India builds its own rockets.”
They stopped at a shining model of Chandrayaan. “This is the kind that went to the Moon,” his mother said. “And India reached the Moon while spending far less than many other countries. Our scientists are respected around the world for being careful and clever.”
Dev's eyes widened. “So we do not buy rockets from anyone? We make our own?” “We make our own,” she said. “And ISRO does not only send things to the Moon. It sends up machines that help farmers see the weather, guide boats at sea, and bring television and telephone signals to distant villages.”
On the way out, Dev bought a small poster of an Indian rocket and put it above his bed. Beneath it he wrote, in his best handwriting: “Made in India. Going to space.” He fell asleep imagining the day he might work at ISRO himself.
Solved Examples
Think first, then read the answer.
1. What is ISRO?
Show answer
Answer: ISRO is India's space team — the Indian Space Research Organisation. It builds rockets and spacecraft and sends them into space.
2. What did Chandrayaan-3 do in 2023?
Show answer
Answer: It landed safely near the south pole of the Moon, a place no other country had reached before.
3. Does India buy its rockets from other countries?
Show answer
Answer: No. India builds its own rockets, here at home, with our own scientists.
4. Name one way ISRO's machines help people on the Earth.
Show answer
Answer: They help study the weather, guide boats at sea, and carry television and telephone signals to villages.
5. Why did Fatima's class cheer?
Show answer
Answer: Because India had just landed a spacecraft on the Moon, a very proud moment for the whole country.
Check Your Understanding
A. Fill in the blanks
- India's space team is called _______.
- Chandrayaan-3 landed near the Moon's south _______.
- India builds its own _______.
B. Write True or False
- ISRO is India's space team. ( ___ )
- India has never reached the Moon. ( ___ )
- ISRO's machines can help farmers. ( ___ )
C. Answer in one word
- The full form of ISRO begins with which country's name?
- On which sky-object did Chandrayaan-3 land?
D. Think and answer
- How did you feel when you read about the Moon landing?
- What tasks do ISRO's space machines do for us?
- Would you like to work at ISRO one day? Why?
Check your understanding
Tap an answer to see if it is correct. This is just for fun — nothing is saved.
1. What is ISRO?
- India's space team
- A food
- A river
Show answer
A. India's space team
2. Where did India's spacecraft land?
- The Moon
- A lake
- A hill
Show answer
A. The Moon
3. Who builds India's rockets?
- Other countries
- ISRO, in India
- No one
Show answer
B. ISRO, in India