Last month, ISRO successfully launched the Chandrayaan-3 mission, and the lander and rover are expected to reach the Moon on August 23 after covering a distance of over 3.8 lakh km.
A large team of scientists and experts have worked on the mission making India proud with this historic achievement. Here are some of the brilliant minds behind India’s lunar mission:
S SomanathConsidered the brains behind the ambitious mission to the moon, Somnath is an Indian aerospace engineer serving as the chairman of ISRO. He has also worked on vital missions like Aditya-L1 and Gaganyaan.
Ritu Karidhal SrivastavaKnown as the Rocket Woman of India, senior scientist Ritu has previously worked as deputy operations director on India’s Mars orbiter mission, Mangalyaan. She served as mission director for Chandrayaan-3.
P VeeramuthuvelHailing from a small family in Tamil Nadu’s Villupuram district, Veeramuthuvel is an alumnus of IIT Madras and has worked as a project director in the Chandrayaan-3 mission.
S Unnikrishnan NairNair is the maker of the LVM3 rocket for the mission. Being the director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), he and his team are in charge of key functions of the crucial mission.
A RajarajanHe is the chairman of the Launch Authorisation Board (LAB), which gave the green signal for the launch. He has been ensuring the infrastructure for ISRO’s growing launch needs — including Gaganyaan and SSLV.
M SankaranCurrently serving as the director of U R Rao Satellite Centre (URSC), he leads the satellite fraternity to meet the requirements in navigation, remote sensing, meteorology, and interplanetary exploration.
Chayan DuttaAssam’s Chayan led the launch control of the Chandrayaan-3 mission. He is the deputy project director and the leader of the onboard command telemetry, data handling, and storage system.