Meet the team behind Chandrayaan-3 Moon mission
What's the story
India is on the verge of making history as the first nation to land near the Moon's south pole with Chandrayaan-3, after Russia's unsuccessful attempt with the Luna-25 mission. Chandrayaan-3, which launched on July 14, is set to land on the Moon today at 6:04pm. As Chandrayaan-3 gears up for notching a crucial milestone, let's take a look at the key people driving the ambitious lunar mission.
Details
Meet the masterminds behind Chandrayaan-3
ISRO Chairman S Somanath, an expert in launch vehicle system engineering, helped with the design of the Launch Vehicle Mark-3 rocket that took Chandrayaan-3 to orbit. Before his current role, Somnath served as the director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) and the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre. These agencies oversee the development of rocket technologies for ISRO. He is also supervising Aditya-L1, India's first space-based solar mission, and Gaganyaan, which will be India's first crewed mission.
People
Chandrayaan-3's project director P Veeramuthuvel took charge in 2019
P Veeramuthuvel, an alumnus of IIT Madras, took control as project director of Chandrayaan-3 in 2019. He has worked with ISRO for three decades. He replaced M Vanitha who was the project director of Chandrayaan-2. Vanitha was the first Indian woman to head a lunar mission. She's currently the deputy director at UR Rao Satellite Centre (URSC). Chandrayaan-3's mission director is Mohan Kumar. He is the head of the Fabrication of Composites at VSSC.
Scientists
Here are some of the other notable scientists
Ritu Karidhal, often called the 'rocket woman of India,' has made notable contributions to Chandrayaan-3. She has previously served as the deputy director of the Mangalyaan mission. Other notable scientists include VSSC Director S Unnikrishnan Nair and URSC Director M Sankaran. Nair and his team at VSSC manage critical aspects of the mission. Sankaran leads the team at URSC responsible for designing and constructing India's satellites. He is often called the "powerhouse of ISRO," owing to his expertise.
Information
54 female engineers/scientists have made significant contributions to Chandrayaan-3
While we have discussed the roles of several male scientists, it's important to mention that as many as 54 women scientists/engineers are directly involved with the Chandrayaan-3 project. These women hold positions of "associate and deputy project directors and project managers of various systems," per ISRO.