The “Rocket Women” Behind The Successful Launch Of Chandrayaan-II

Harin - Jul 26, 2019

Behind the success of the Chandrayaan-II’s launch of ISRO stand two women who are directly in charge of the mission, Muthayya Vanitha, and Ritu Karidhal.

After being delayed for a week and recovering from minor technical errors, ISRO successfully launched Chandrayaan-II from Sriharikota. Behind the success of the Chandrayaan-II’s launch stand two women who are directly in charge of the mission. But their work isn’t finished until Chandrayaan-II makes its landing on the moon.

Before this, ISRO has already had women leading launching project of communication satellites but never for big-budget launches like Chandrayaan-I or Mangalyaan. This is the first time for two women to lead such a prestigious moon mission, something which has never happened.

Muthayya Vanitha, ISRO Chandrayaan-II mission’s Project Director

In her 40s, Vanitha has already had a distinguished career at ISRO. With the Chandrayaan-II mission, she has become the first female project director, breaking barriers.

At first, Vanitha was reluctant to become a project director for the Chandrayaan-II mission, but she decided to take the job after persuasion from M Annadurai-Chandrayaan-I’s project director who knew for sure Vanitha would do a splendid job.

Vanitha, who is an electronics system engineer, has been in charge of handling data operations for India’s remote sensing satellites. And she has been known for her excellent problem-solving skills.

Back in 2006, Vanitha has earned the Astronautical Society of India’s Best Woman Scientist Award. She also made an important contribution to the Mangalyaan’s success in November 2013.

Ritu Karidhal-ISRO Chandrayaan-II mission’s Mission Director

Karidhal is called India’s “Rocket Worman” as she was Mangalyan’s operations director.

And now, she has become the mission director of the Chandrayaan-II. She, together with Vanitha, has worked closely throughout the preparation and launch of the Chandrayaan-II.

She was responsible for designing the onward autonomy system of the mission. With this system, the spacecraft can be independent in navigating its trajectory and responding to satellites.

Rita Karidhal holds an IISC’s Aerospace Engineering Master’s degree. In 2007, she received the ISRO Scientist Award as well as the ISRO Team Award for Mars Orbiter Mission.