Accolades continue to pour in for the Chandrayan-3 team with the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) honouring twelve of its alumni who work in the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and played a key role in the country’s successful moon mission. The Tamil Nadu government had earlier honoured all those scientists from the state who were a part of the mission with lavish cash awards.
The IITM alumni in the Chandrayaan-3 mission include Dr. S. Unnikrishnan Nair who completed his PhD from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Madras, in 2011 (2011 / PhD / ME) and is the Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), ISRO, and Dr. P. Veeramuthuvel (PhD / ME), Project Director, Chandrayaan-3, ISRO, who completed his PhD in Mechanical Engineering in 2016.
Addressing the gathering, Chief Guest Dr. S. Unnikrishnan Nair, Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), ISRO, said, “This month, we will be having the first big mission of Gaganyaan from Sriharikota. We are going to demonstrate the in-flight system. In manned missions, it is not the mission success but it is the safety of the crew that counts. We are testing and ensuring that the escape system has got a very high reliability…The escape system will be activated in transonic conditions, which is Mach 1.2 and we will demonstrate how the crew will be rescued. We are all looking forward to that mission. There are many exciting missions in the future.”
“This month, we will be having the first big mission of Gaganyaan from Sriharikota. We are going to demonstrate the in-flight system. In manned missions, it is not the mission success but it is the safety of the crew that counts.”
Dr. S Unnikrishnan Nair
Recalling his days as a PhD Student at IIT Madras, Dr. S. Unnikrishnan Nair added, “I stayed in this campus for hardly one semester but that one semester made a lot of changes in me. My guru for PhD, Prof. P. Chandramouli is now heading the Department. We feel proud that we belong to this institute and that we could do something that is because of the energy and enthusiasm that we got by being part of great institution.”
Delivering the keynote address and a presentation on Chandrayaan-3, Dr. P. Veeramuthuvel, Project Director, Chandrayaan-3, ISRO, said, it is not only an achievement for the scientific community but it has become the country’s achievement. “This time, failure was not an option for us. But success did not come easily also. We crafted the lander in such a way that any path it takes, it should land. That was our strategy this time. All our teams, particularly, across navigation, guidance, control, propulsion systems, sensors and all the components, worked in unison. The confidence stemmed from hundreds of lab tests and three important field tests. That was the most challenging task – creating the lunar environment on earth and proving that all our systems will work before the launch. It was one of our important tasks.”
“This time, failure was not an option for us. But success did not come easily also. We crafted the lander in such a way that any path it takes, it should land. That was our strategy this time. All our teams, particularly, across navigation, guidance, control, propulsion systems, sensors and all the components, worked in unison.
Dr. P. Veeramuthuvel, Project Director, Chandrayaan-3
Other ISRO scientists and engineers (IIT Madras Alumni), who were part of the Chandrayaan-3 mission, shared their experiences during the event. They include Dr. P. Arun Kumar, Dr. John Tharakan, Abdul Hameed, Rajeev Senan C, Dr. Shamrao, H.M. Raghavendra Prasad, Dr. S. Mathavaraj, R. Karthik, B.S. Phani Dinakar, and Sakthivel M.
The diverse mix of scientists and engineers contributing to Chandrayaan-3 stands as an outstanding example of our times that there is much more to engineering than IT. Mechanical Engineers, Aerospace, Chemical Engineers, and Civil Engineers have all come together for the project that has now become a part of Indian history, a release stated.
Welcoming the alumni, Prof. Mahesh Panchagnula, Dean (Alumni and Corporate Relations), IIT Madras, said, “IIT Madras is proud to have hundreds of its alumni within ISRO, almost 55,000 alumni globally who are present in over 80 countries excelling in their own fields. But this group of twelve have made us all proud, by doing something that no other country in the world has done. Everyone tried but we succeeded, not just in the mission, but at a cost that is unbelievable for the rest of the world. The cost that we incurred to this mission and to do their science, is a model for rest of the world.”
Prof. Mahesh Panchagnula added that this should be a clear reminder that there is no limit to dreams. “Wherever you go to study and whoever you may become, there is no limit to what you can do with your own intelligence, hard work and dedication,” he said.