Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) veterans who played prominent roles in the space agency’s ambitious moon programme over the years have described the successful landing of the Chandrayaan-3 lander module on the lunar south pole as a remarkable achievement.
Congratulating the ISRO team for taking India to the moon, G. Madhavan Nair, who was Chairman, ISRO, during the 2008 Chandrayaan-1 mission, said the successful soft-landing serves as a ‘‘stepping stone’‘ towards planetary explorations that India may undertake in the future. The ISRO has set a global standard ‘‘by reaching the moon and landing at a designated location at a predetermined time,’‘ Dr. Madhavan Nair, who retired in 2009, said.
V. Adimurthy, former Deputy Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), praised the ISRO team led by Chairman S. Somanath for the successful landing. Dr. Adimurthy was part of the Lunar Mission Study Task Force which prepared a study report on the moon programme in the early 2000s.
Somayana
Both veterans also recalled how the project was originally called ‘Somayana-1’ — ‘Soma’ for the moon — but later was rechristened ‘Chandrayaan,’ apparently for a more direct connect with the public.
According to Dr. Madhavan Nair, it was the then Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee who suggested, when the mission came up for his approval, the name ‘Chandrayaan.’ Dr. Adimurthy also notes that the project originally carried the name ‘Somayana.’
‘‘We called it Somayana-1, but it was thought that the name might confuse people. So it was changed to Chandrayaan,’‘ Dr. Adimurthy said.
The successful Chandrayaan-1 mission, which lifted off from Sriharikota in October 2008, gave a huge fillip to the country’s space programme. The 2019 Chandrayaan-2 mission, which comprised a lander and rover, did not succeed as the lander ‘Vikram’ crashed on the lunar surface.
Dr. Madhavan Nair pointed out how ISRO’s long-term plans for the moon, conceived in the 2000s, had turned into a reality in phases.
‘’This (Chandrayaan-3) is a continuation of the Chandrayaan programme which we conceived in the mid-2000s. The first (Chandrayaan-1) was to go around the moon and map it. Later, to land on the surface of the moon, take samples and analyse and so on. Now that phase is becoming a reality. I’m really happy that the plan that the ISRO evolved several years ago has borne fruit today,’‘ he said.
