Five scientists from Uttar Pradesh played a crucial role in ISRO’s historic Chandrayaan-3 soft landing on the moon. India became the first country to land on the uncharted lunar south pole on Wednesday.
Of the ‘Super Five’, as they are being called, one scientist designed the set of sophisticated cameras that is sending crystal clear images to earth; one was allocated the responsibility to track the signal of Chandrayaan-3; one made significant changes in the design of the spacecraft while the other two made contributions to the entire mission.
Kamlesh Sharma from Ghazipur’s Reotipur village holds a distinct position in the team handling Chandrayaan-3 – he was inducted into ISRO in 2010 and posted as a prime controller in the moon mission.
“Kamlesh is a part of the review team of the moon mission. I am very happy that my son is a part of the mission that made our country proud,” said Ved Prakash Sharma, Kamlesh’s father and a lawyer by profession.
Kamlesh completed his schooling from Adarsh Inter College in Mahuabagh. His father mentioned the fact that Kamlesh had topped his Class XII exams in the district following which he moved to Lucknow to complete his higher studies. He bagged some 10 gold medals at the University of Lucknow.
Ved Prakash said the family last spoke to Kamlesh 15 days ago as he was busy with the moon mission. “He said this time they are leaving no stone unturned in making this dream mission come true,” he said.
Dharmendra Pratap Yadav, who is from Firozabad district, is another scientist in the list. Dharmendra’s brother said the scientist had been assigned the task of tracking the signal of Chandrayaan-3 and was constantly monitoring the mission’s connectivity with earth.
“It’s a big day for us. We are happy as Dharmendra was a part of the mission. The day is no less than Diwali for us,” said Shambhu Dayal Yadav, Dharmendra’s father.
Dharmendra’s village Tikri was drenched in festivities after the success of the moon mission. Not only the family but the neighbours also celebrated the day and felicitated Dharmendra’s father. His family members said it was last February when Dharmendra visited his village.
Sumit Kumar, another scientist, comes next in the list. He is from Fatehpur district and is said to have been assigned the crucial task of designing the Chandrayaan-3 camera. He was born and brought up in Vijay Nagar village and a family member said he was inducted into ISRO at Ahmedabad in 2008 and was now posted at the space application centre.
“The sophisticated cameras installed in Chandrayaan-3 and the rover have been designed by Sumit and his team. In total, there are five cameras in Chandrayaan-3. Unlike normal cameras, these are designed differently to work even in extreme conditions,” said Sumit’s brother Sushil Singh.
Then comes Areeb Ahmed, who is from Muzaffarnagar district’s Mitthu Lal locality. Areeb was inducted into ISRO in 2021 and was part of the satellite team of Chandrayaan-3, said his family.
“It’s indeed a memorable day for all of us. We were anxiously awaiting this day. I am happy that my son was part of the moon mission. I am proud of him,” said Areeb’s father Mehtab Ahmed. His locality, too, celebrated the day and distributed sweets soon after Chandrayaan-3 made a successful landing.
Then comes Pratapgarh’s Ravi Kesarwani, who was a part of the Chandrayaan-3 team. His father Omprakash Kesarwani said Ravi was a meritorious student since schooldays.
Till Class V, he studied in Kunda town and then moved to Pune from where he completed his schooling and BTech. In 2016, he underwent training at ISRO and was inducted in 2019 as scientific technical officer. “Ravi told me that before designing Chandrayaan-3, a marathon meeting was called to review the shortcomings of Chandrayaan-2 and to suggest changes in Chandrayaan-3. Ravi then suggested some crucial changes in its design, which he said helped a lot in the smooth landing and the success of the entire moon mission,” the proud father said.
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