Chandrayaan-3: Know the team behind India’s mega moon mission

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), on July 14 from Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota, successfully launched the LVM3 in its fourth operational mission and put the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft into the intended orbit. As per the plan, after 40 days of journey covering more than 3.8-lakh-km, ‘Vikram,’ the Chandrayaan-3 lander, should touch down on the lunar surface at around 5.47pm on August 23.

With the culmination of years of research and development, the Launch Vehicle Mark-III (LVM3) was placed in the desired orbit. Here is the team of brilliant minds who packed the scientific ambitions of ISRO and the entire nation into a vehicle making Indian Chandrayaan-3, the world’s first mission to soft-land near the lunar south pole.

S Somnath 

Chairman of ISRO and former director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), S Somnath is the lead aerospace engineer of India’s historic lunar mission. He also served as the Director of Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), Valiamala, for two and half years. Dr. Somanath is an expert in the area of system engineering of launch vehicles and has contributed to PSLV and GSLV MkIII in their overall architecture, propulsion stages design, structural and structural dynamics designs, separation systems, vehicle integration, and integration procedures development.

P Veeramuthuvel

The senior scientist from Tamil Nadu’s Villupuram, P Veeramuthuvel, who was the project director of the Chandrayaan-2 in 2019, is also the visionary of the follow-up Chandrayaan-3. He previously served as a deputy director in the Space Infrastructure Programme Office. The 46-year-old scientist is the project director of Chandrayaan-3.

S. Unnikrishnan Nair 

S Unnikrishnan Nair is the rocket developer and chief of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) and the Launch Vehicle Mark-III. He is in-charge of various key functions of the Chandrayaan-3 mission. Unnikrishnan is the founding Director of Human Space Flight Centre, Bengaluru. 

A. Rajarajan 

A. Rajarajan is the director of Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR), India's main spaceport in Sriharikota and an expert in the area of composites. He is also the chief of the Launch Authorisation Board (LAB). He has developed the Fruition of Solid Motor Production and Launch Complex Infrastructure to meet ISRO’s increased demand for launches.

M. Sankaran 

M. Sankaran is the director of U R Rao Satellite Centre (URSC), who took charge in June 2021 to head India’s leading team of satellites. His priorities are to overlook the requirements of communication, navigation, remote sensing, and interplanetary exploration.

Chayan Dutta

The deputy project director of the mission and the chief of the onboard command telemetry, data handling and storage system, Chayan Dutta hails from Assam and led the launch control of the Chandrayaan-3 mission.

Chandryaan-3 aces final deboosting

ISRO today (Sunday) said it successfully lowered the orbit of the Chandrayaan-3 mission's Lander Module (LM), bringing it nearer to the moon. The national space agency also said that the LM would now undergo internal checks. The LM, which comprises the lander ‘Vikram' and rover ‘Pragyan’, is expected to touch down on the lunar surface on August 23 evening. 

ISRO took to the official handle of X and said, "The second and final deboosting operation has successfully reduced the LM orbit to 25  km x 134 km. The module would undergo internal checks and await the sun-rise at the designated landing site. The powered descent is expected to commence on August 23, 2023, around 1745 Hrs. IST"