Team Chandrayaan 3: Powered By India’s Outstanding Women Scientists

Chandrayaan-3 Team: On August 23, 2023, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) created history as it led Chandrayaan-3 Vikram Lander to soft land on the South Pole of the Moon. Yesterday, India became the first country in the world to explore the southern region of the Moon, and it could not have been possible without the brains behind it.

Chandrayaan-3 was not built in a day. It took an entire team of scientists and years of hard work and ₹615 crores to witness what seemed like an effortless landing on the surface of the Moon.

In this article, we are celebrating female scientists who led the Mission Moon and made Indians proud.

Dr VR Lalithambika: Director Of Gaganyaan

Born in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, Dr VR Lalithambika is an expert in Advanced Launcher Technologies. She led the 'Gaganyaan' mission, which intended to send Indian astronauts to space in 2022. She has received the Astronautical Society of India Award of Excellence in launch vehicle technology.

Dr Lalithambika has been a part of more than 100 missions carried out in ISRO. Before ISRO, she held the office of the deputy director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) handling control, simulation, and guidance.

Nandini Harinath: Deputy Operation Director Of Mangalyaal

Nandini Harinath has been a part of ISRO for more than two decades. She started her first job with the organisation and has never left since. In her career of 20 years, she has been a part of more than 14 missions.

Do you remember MOM (Mars Orbiter Mission)? Also called Mangalyaan, Harinath was the deputy operations director of the mission. She is currently the Project Manager and Mission Designer.

Vanitha Muthayya: Project Director Of Chandrayaan-2

With a career spanning over three decades in ISRO, Vanitha Muthayya is an integral part of the organisation, where she leads projects on satellites. She was the project director of the Chandrayaan-2 lunar mission and was a part of the team that led Mangalyaan.

When she joined ISRO, she was a junior engineer who used to conduct hardware testing and development. She is the first woman project director at ISRO and the first woman to lead an interplanetary mission. In 2006, she was bestowed with the Best Woman Scientist award by the Astronomical Society of India.

Anuradha TK: ISRO's First Woman Satellite Project Director

Anuradha TK is a retired scientist who specialised in communication satellites. She worked at ISRO for around 34 years before retiring. In an old interview, she was quoted saying that ISRO does not offer special treatment to women scientists nor does it discriminate against them on the basis of gender.

She served in the office of the project director and headed the launches of three communication satellites - GSAT-9, GSAT-17, and GSAT-18.

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Ritu Karidhal's Role In Chandrayaan-3

Working in ISRO since 1997, Ritu Karidhal was among the brains behind the development of the craft that made Mangalyaan a successful mission. She was responsible for the onward autonomy system of the craft. It allowed the craft to function independently in space.

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In 2021, Karidhal was appointed as Gender Equality Advisory Council (GEAC). In 2007, she received the ISRO Young Scientist Award from then-President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.

Stay tuned to more such inspiring stories.