Meet the Team behind Chandrayaan 2

Hyderabad: Chandrayaan 2, The second lunar exploration mission by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is all set to land on the moon tonight. A whopping amount of 978 crores has been invested in the unmanned mission where the Satellite cost Rs 603 crore, and GSLV MK III cost Rs 375 crore. The mission was launched from the second launch pad at Satish Dhawan space centre on July 22nd 2019.

The team behind Chandrayaan-2 include, K. Sivan - He was appointed the Chief of ISRO in January 2018. It is under his chairmanship that ISRO launched Chandrayaan 2, the second mission to the moon on July 22nd. He has written a software called 'Sitara' which was used in the launch vehicles to control the rocket's trajectory, which earned him fame within the space organisation. He was also the man behind the correction of GSLV rocket with an indigenous cryogenic engine. India will be the fourth country under his chairmanship to make a successful landing on the lunar surface after the US, China and USSR.

Mylswamy Annadurai - An Indian scientist, He served as the director of ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC) in Bangalore from 2015-2018. The project director of Chandrayaan 2, He was listed among 100 Global Thinkers of 2014 and topped the innovators' list. He is currently appointed as the Vice President for Tamil Nadu state council for science and technology. He was the member secretary of the task team that prepared the Chandrayaan 1 project report.

Muthayya Vanitha - She is the Project Director of Chandrayaan 2. She is one of the ace scientists leading the inter-planetary mission. India's second visit to the moon has been made possible because of years of work by Muthayya Vanitha. She has spent 32 years at ISRO. She has worked in the lab, testing carts, making hardware, designing developing and then a managerial position. Good at Problem solving, she was hesitant to join the mission but was persuaded by Mylswamy Annadurai.

Ritu Karidhal - She is an Indian scientist at ISRO since 1997 and was the Deputy operations director to India's Mars Orbital Mission, Mangalyaan. She is also referred to as "Rocket Woman" of India. She is now the Mission Director for Chandrayaan 2. She received the ISRO young scientist award in 2007 from A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

Chandrakanta Kumar - The head of the Electromagnetic section of UR Rao Satellite Centre ( URSC), he is the deputy project director, responsible for the RF system of Chandrayaan-2. He has designed the Antenna systems for the Indian satellites and ground stations. He served as a project manager, Antenna systems for Chandrayaan -1, GSAT-12 and ASTROSAT. He is responsible for the Radio Frequency Systems in Chandrayaan 2.

Amitabh Singh - The Deputy Project Director for the Chandrayaan 2, he handles the Optical payload Data processing and On-board Algorithm related to Chandrayaan 2 Lander and Rover.