Auhona Roy Chowdhury, Pune
India’s third moon mission, Chandrayaan-3 launched yesterday at 2.35 pm from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. Leading this mission is ‘Rocket Woman’, Ritu Karidhal Srivastava, a prominent figure in India’s space program.
Ritu Karidhal has previously served as the Mission Director for Chandrayaan-2 and the Deputy Operations Director for Mangalyaan, the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM). Hailing from Lucknow, she completed her BSc in Physics from Lucknow University and went on to earn an ME degree in Aerospace Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). Karidhal joined the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in 1997.
Throughout her career, Dr. Ritu Karidhal has garnered recognition for her contributions. She was honored with the ISRO Young Scientist Award by former President APJ Abdul Kalam. She also received the ISRO Team Award for MOM in 2015, the ASI Team Award, and the Women Achievers in Aerospace accolade in 2017 from the Society of Indian Aerospace Technologies & Industries (SIATI).
Her passion for space exploration developed at an early age, and she used to collect newspaper clippings about ISRO and NASA. Their expertise is evident through her extensive research contributions. She has authored more than 20 papers published in national and international journals.
Chandrayaan-3, which is set to travel a distance of over 300,000 km, is expected to reach the moon in the upcoming weeks. The launch of the spacecraft yesterday generated an outpouring of excitement that resonated through the households in India, creating an atmosphere of jubilation.