Shiv Shakti is the name given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the point where Chandrayaan-3’s lander Vikram touched down on the surface of the moon.The name symbolises the equal contribution of
the 'rocket' men and women scientists in India's historic lunar mission.
On Saturday, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Bengaluru interacted with the 120-odd women scientists of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), who had worked on the Chandrayaan-3 project. The Prime Minister lauded the key role that 'Nari Shakti' had played in taking India where no other country had gone before.
Among the women was V Brinda, the director of the Directorate of Safety, Reliability and Quality (ISRO HQ), who told The New Indian Express that the credit for the successful Chandrayaan-3 mission must go to the entire team. She noted that women scientists did play a significant role in the mission.
An outstanding scientist and expert in launch vehicle control and guidance systems, Brinda had been part of Chandrayaan-2 mission as well and led mission critical software design team of ISTRAC for launch vehicle and spacecraft ground support.
For Chandrayaan-3, she headed the Integrated Product Assurance Board, a key review committee, that conducted an end-to-end review of all aspects of the spacecraft, including mission design, control and guidance design and failure mode analysis of all systems to give higher management the confidence for launch clearance.
Chandrayaan-3’s associate project director K Kalpana, Chandrayaan-2 project director M Vanitha and
Chandrayaan-2’s mission director Ritu Karidhal are also among the women scientists at ISRO who have become household names.
Vanitha and Ritu etched their names in history as the first women to spearhead a space mission in India. They both played pivotal roles in the Chandrayaan-2 project. Although, Chandrayaan-2's lander crashed on the Moon's surface, ISRO scientists said they deem the project a success as it transmitted invaluable data and formed the basis for the success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission.
Hailing from Chennai, Vanitha is an accomplished electronics and communication systems engineer, who has overseen satellite projects. She supervised the development of hardware for Chandrayaan.
Ritu, who joined ISRO in 1997, has a phenomenal track record and is often referred to as the 'rocket lady'. She even played a key role in India's Mars Orbiter Mission 'Mangalyaan' as its deputy operations director. She has already won several awards like ISRO Young Scientist Award from former President APJ Abdul Kalam and ISRO Team Award for Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) in 2015.
Both Vanitha and Ritu played an active role in project reviews of Chandrayaan-3.
A soft-spoken Kalpana said it was the success of Chandrayaan-3 was her happiest moment and the entire team had achieved the goal flawlessly from the day that rebuilding started after Chandrayaan-2’s experience.
"It has been a breathe-in, breathe-out Chandrayaan-3 for our team. Starting from pre-configuration, all the special tests and simulations were conducted meticulously. This has been possible only because of the dedicated effort from our team," said Kalpana.
ISRO is home to several other women scientists such as Geena Varghese, Beena AP, Athula Devi, Nandhini Harinath, Shivani, Ceena Sunil, Roopa MV and Vidya, who all performed their tasks meticulously to make the nation proud.ISRO has acknowledged that women scientists took the lead in making India’s dream of landing on Moon a reality.
Many emerging women scientists that The New Indian Express spoke to have credited what is known as the 'ISRO culture' for enabling women to shine. "Unlike before, there is an enabling and conducive atmosphere for women scientists now to make larger contributions and take on lead roles."
Endorsing the sentiment, Brinda said the representation of women in higher management in ISRO is increasing.
"I can see more women scientists coming up the ranks. The current chairman of ISRO (S Somnath) is very supportive and encourages all of us to deliver their best," she said.