ISRO scientist Ritu Karidhal Srivastava the mastermind behind Chandrayaan-3

By R. Anil Kumar

• Ritu Karidhal Srivastava, popularly known as India’s ‘rocket woman’ spearheaded the entire mission.
• Ritu is a senior scientist at ISRO and was the Deputy Operations Director to India’s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), Mangalyaan.

Bangalore, July 14. Chandrayaan-3 was launched at 2.35pm on Friday from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched  its third moon exploration mission — Chandrayaan-3 at 2.35pm on Friday from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. The mission’s objective is to explore the south pole of the moon.

Dr RituKaridhal Srivastava, one of the senior scientists at Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), is leading the mission.

The mission was launched on ISRO’s GSLV Mark 3 (LVM 3) heavy-lift launch vehicle. LVM-3 is a composite of propulsion, lander and rover.

The lander will have the capability to soft land at a specified lunar site and deploy the rover which will carry out in-situ chemical analysis of the lunar surface during the course of its mobility.

Once the landing is successful, India will become the fourth country to achieve this, after the United States, Russia, and China.

Dr Ritu Karidhal Srivastava, one of the senior scientists at Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), is leading the mission.

Who is Ritu Karidhal?

Ritu Karidhal was the Mission Director of Chandrayaan-2 and the Deputy Operations Director of Mangalyaan, India’s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM).

She is popularly known as the rocket woman of India.

Karidhal has been born and brought up in Lucknow. She pursued her BSc in Physics from the Lucknow University.

A distinguished Scientist at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), she did MSc in Physics from Lucknow University in 1996. She also pursued MTech from the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru.

She is known as India’s “Rocket Woman” for her work on the Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) and other space missions.

Ritu Karidhal Srivastava joined ISRO in 1997, Dr Ritu has received the ‘ISRO Young Scientist Award’ by former President APJ Abdul Kalam. She has also received ‘ISRO Team Award for MOM in 2015’, ‘ASI Team Award’, ‘Women Achievers in Aerospace, 2017’ by Society of Indian Aerospace Technologies & Industries (SIATI).

“The recently launched ISRO’s Chandrayaan 3 in Chennai, marks another remarkable milestone in India’s aerospace industry. With its advanced payloads, including a lander, rover, and propulsion module, this mission embodies our relentless pursuit of scientific excellence. Under the visionary leadership of Ritu Karidhal Shrivastava, the women behind Chandrayaan 3 mission, represents the spirit and brilliance of our experts within the aerospace sector. By promoting cost-efficient and highly reliable space-grade hardware, the contribution to this mission will benefit the industry by increasing revenue flow and attracting investments. This ambitious endeavor showcases our commitment to pushing the boundaries of space technology and unraveling the mysteries of the lunar surface. As we embark on this journey, we stand united in our quest to expand human knowledge and contribute to the global scientific community. Garuda Aerospace, along with the rest of the nation, is thrilled for the mission’s accomplishment.”

— Agnishwar Jayaprakash, Founder and CEO, Garuda Aerospace

As per the World Economic Forum, Karidhal has always been fascinated by space and has wanted to do something different. She used to collect paper cuttings of ISRO and NASA news reports.

Srivastava has published more than 20 papers in international and national publications, and she has worked on many prestigious missions of ISRO, including: The Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan), The Chandrayaan-1 mission, The Chandrayaan-2 mission, The GSAT-6A mission, The GSAT-7A mission

She is a brilliant engineer and a dedicated leader, and she has made significant contributions to India’s space program. She is a role model for women in STEM fields, and she is an inspiration to many people around the world.

Srivastava has published more than 20 papers in international and national publications, and she has worked on many prestigious missions of ISRO, including: The Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan), The Chandrayaan-1 mission, The Chandrayaan-2 mission, The GSAT-6A mission, The GSAT-7A mission