Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully launched its third Moon mission, Chandrayaan-3. The spacecraft is expected to make a landing on the Moon on August 23. The difficult space expedition has been undertaken under the supervision of ISRO Chairman S. Somanath
Sreedhara Panicker Somanath is an Indian aerospace engineer who took over as the ISRO Chairperson in 2022. Along with his team, he worked on the Chandrayaan-3 mission aimed at in-situ experiments and analysis on the materials available on the lunar surface to better understand the composition of the Moon
Born into a Kerala-based family, S. Somanath did mechanical engineering from Thangal Kunju Musaliar College of Engineering, Kollam, Kerala University, and later on received a master's degree in aerospace engineering from Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore
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After completing his education, S. Somanath joined the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in 1985
S. Somanath’s first key project Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) was launched in 1993. He later became associate director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre and the project director of Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III launch vehicle in 2010
S. Somanath was also the deputy director of the Propulsion and Space Ordinance Entity till November 2014. The next year, he took over as director of Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre in Thiruvananthapuram
In 2019, S. Somanath succeeded K. Sivan to become the director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre. Three years later in January 2022, he took over as the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
S. Somanath has made remarkable contributions in the field of science. To honour his efforts, he was awarded a Doctorate of Science (Honoris Causa) in 2022 by SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Tamil Nadu
S. Somanath made a strong statement about the lunar mission as he earlier said, “Vikram Lander from India's third mission to the Moon, Chandrayaan-3, has the ability of soft landing on the Moon even if its sensors and two engines aren't functioning properly.” Vikram Lander’s first deboosting to lower orbit took place on August 18. ISRO is regularly posting the Chandrayaan-3 status updates on its official X (Twitter) handle
Russia's Moon mission, Luna-25, is also gearing up for a soft landing between August 21 to 23 on the Moon’s uncharted South Pole. It has sent the first images of Moon