Chandrayaan-2 leaders

Vanitha Muthayya:

Ritu Karidhal:

Women on top

TK Anuradha:

N Valarmathi:

VR Lalithambika:

Key faces of Mars Orbiter Mission

Seetha Somasundaram:

Nandini Harinath:

Minal Rohit:

Moumita Dutta:

For the first time in India's history, a space mission is being led by two women scientists of Indian Space Research Organisation ( Isro ). While Vanitha Muthayya is heading the country's second lunar mission Chandrayaan-2 as project director, Ritu Karidhal is the mission director.Vanitha is an expert in data handling. She has excellent problem-solving skills and is good at managing teams. She had earlier interpreted data coming from different payloads of spacecraft like Chandrayaan-1 . Now, she is looking after Chandrayaan-2 from its inception to completion. Ritu Karidhal had been involved in various mission operations. One of her key tasks will be to handle lunar orbital insertion of the craft. Karidhal was earlier deputy operations director of Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), India's first successful interplanetary mission launched in 2013.On Chandrayaan-2's team strength, Isro chairman K Sivan told TOI, "It is not possible to define the boundaries (of work). For each project, every person (of the total Isro strength of 17,000 staff) is contributing in some form. That's the network culture. It is not correct to say one individual contributed. There are unsung heroes...in thousands. Therefore, it is always correct to say Team Isro." However, a source in Isro told TOI, "Though all employees contribute for a programme in some way, in missions like Chandraayan-2, around 300 members are integral to it and 20-30 per cent of them are women."Women had always played key roles in interplanetary and satellite missions. In fact, a young women team had worked shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts for MOM. "MOM was a big challenge. We had to be ready for it in 18 months. The difficult task was developing an autonomy software for the craft with a mind of its own that would work in absence of any control from the Earth. It looked difficult. But we worked tirelessly and devised the software in a record 10 months," Karidhal said during a talk show.Under its Gaganyaan mission, India is planning to send one woman astronaut, along with two others, to space. Interestingly, a woman scientist VR Lalithambika, as head of the human space programme office, is helping in mission coordination and working with Human Space Flight Centre, the nodal centre for Gaganyaan mission led by its director S Unnikrishnan Nair. Indian space science has always been dominated by men. Despite the struggle to manage home and office affairs, women scientists had played vital roles in space missions but hardly got the limelight they deserved. However, MOM and Chandrayaan missions have shown that women are ready to brave all odds to lead the show.project director, Chandrayaan-2 Headed telemetry and telecommand divisions in digital systems group, Isro Satellite Centre (now U R Rao Space Centre). Worked as deputy project director for TTC-baseband systems for Cartosat-1 and deputy project director for Oceansat-2 and Megha-Tropiques satellites. Awarded Best Woman Scientist Award in 2006.mission director, Chandrayaan-2 Was deputy operations director of Mars Orbiter Mission, India's first interplanetary mission. From a middle class family in Lucknow, Karidhal, as a child, always thought about what existed beyond the dark space. Karidhal, who joined IISc to pursue her masters in aerospace engineering, has been working for Isro since 1997. In 2007, she received the Isro Young Scientist Award from former President APJ Abdul Kalam.Handles geo satellite launches | Works as geosat programme director at UR Rao Space Centre. Has overseen launches of Gsat-12 and Gsat-10. She is the seniormost woman scientist in Isro, having joined agency in 1982, and also the first woman to become a satellite project directorOversees sat launches | As project director of Risat-1, India's first radar imaging sat, she is the first person to receive Abdul Kalam Award instituted by Tamil Nadu. She has been involved in key satellite missions like Insat-2A, IRS-IC, IRS-ID & Technology Experiment SatelliteCoordination head for Gaganyaan mission | Playing one of the leading roles in human spaceflight mission. Specialist in advanced launcher tech. Instrumental in the launch of record 104 satellites in one go. The proximity of her house to Thumba testing centre got her attracted to IsroProgramme director, space science program office | Isro's leading space science instrumentation expert. Was involved in payload characterisation and calibration of MangalyaanDeputy operations director, Mars Orbiter Mission | Was operations director for Risat-1, India's first radar imaging satellite. Was asked to be one of the 'focal points' of the Mars mission. Her first exposure to science was TV series 'Star Trek'Project manager (Mars mission) | A systems engineer in Isro, worked on making methane sensor for the Mars mission. For MOM, she & her team remained confined to a room & worked for 18 hrs a dayProject manager (Mars mission) | Contributed in the development of Mars payload. Currently heads a team making progress in optical science, part of 'Make in India' initiative