The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chose to land Chandrayaan in the south pole of moon because of the availability of more resources for fuel, said Chandrayaan-3 Project Director P. Veeramuthuvel on November 27.
He was delivering the 6th memorial lecture of Manikam Ramaswami at the Thiagarajar School of Management (TSM). During an interaction with students, Mr. Veeramuthuvel said India had a road map for its space programmes till 2047.
The ISRO wanted to set up its space station by 2035. The water molecules could be used as a resource for fuel and the organisation could make the best of the moon’s escaping velocity of 2.38 km/second to reach other planets, making the moon a gateway.
Stating that any planet exploration was only for looking for new resources, he said if Helium-3 was tapped it could serve for future generations for producing power.
Also read: Explained | After Chandrayaan-3, what has ISRO planned?
“Lunar 25 was targeting closer to the point targeted by the ISRO and all future missions are targeted towards the pole,” he added.
India chose to land in the south pole in the first time itself due to the availability of more resources.
‘Many a challenge’
Mr. Veeramuthuvel said the ISRO had a review process at every single stage, and during the Chandrayaan-3 mission, the team faced lot of challenges.
“Since it was a second attempt, failure was not an option. The only agenda we had was to have a soft landing, so everything was led towards that,” he said.
Chandrayaan-3 had shown that one should not view failure as a setback, but as a lesson from which one could learn and come back stronger, he added.
Earlier, speaking on the occasion, The Hindu Group of Publications Director N. Murali, also a member of the TSM Board of Governors, showered encomiums on Manikam Ramaswami. Stating that Ramaswami was his neighbour in Chennai, Mr. Murali said he was a strict disciplinarian and a well-rounded individual.
Ramaswami believed in ethical business practices. “He was all not for only making profits, but was for sustainable development and inclusive growth,” Mr. Murali said.
Ramaswami showed phenomenal growth after taking over the management of the textile business. As the Chairman of Southern India Mills’ Association, he initiated changes in lopsided excise structure. Setting up of integrated textile parks and conducting textile fairs were his ideas.
Chairman, Board of Governors, TSM, BT. Bangera; college correspondent Valli Ramaswami; director Murali Sadasivam and college principal M. Selvalakshmi were present.
