Chandrayaan 3: IITs, IISc Bangalore — check educational qualification of ISRO scientists behind the successful moon mission

S Somnath, Secretary, Department of Space and Chairperson, Space Commission completed his BTech in Mechanical Engineering from TKM College of Engineering, Kollam and Masters in Aerospace Engineering from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. He specialised in Structures, Dynamics and Control with a gold medal.

About the university

The foundation of TKM College of Engineering was laid in 1956 and it was inaugurated on July 3, 1958. It is the first government aided engineering college in Kerala.

M Sankaran

M Sankaran, Director, UR Rao Satellite Centre (URSC), the leading centre in the country for the design, development and realisation of all satellites of ISRO. He obtained a Master’s degree in Physics from Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli in 1986. Soon after he joined the ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC) now known as URSC.

About the university

Bharathidasan University was established in February 1982. It was named after the revolutionary Tamil Poet, Bharathidasan. The university has four faculties, 16 schools, 39 departments and 29 specialised research centres. The university offers 151 programmes.

Dr V Narayanan

Dr V Narayanan, Director, Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), one of the major centres of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). He is a rocket propulsion expert and he joined ISRO in 1984.

An alumni of the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, he obtained his MTech in Cryogenic Engineering with first rank in 1989. He then went on to pursue a PhD in Aerospace Engineering. He is a recipient of a silver medal from IIT Kharagpur for first rank in MTech and a gold medal from the Astronautical Society of India. He has also been awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science (Honoris Cause) from Sathyabama University, Chennai.

Dr S Unnikrishnan Nair

Dr S Unnikrishnan Nair, Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) and Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) Thiruvananthapuram. He completed his BTech in Mechanical Engineering from Kerala University, ME in Aerospace Engineering from IISc Bangalore and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Madras. He also holds an MA in Telecommunications and Space Law from NALSAR. He started his career at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre Thiruvananthapuram in 1985. He played a key role in the maiden orbital re-entry experiment Space Capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE), right from the study phase onwards to its mission accomplishment in 2007.

About the university

The University of Kerala was established as the University of Travancore in the erstwhile princely state of Travancore in 1937. It is one of the first 16 universities in India.

P Veeramuthuvel

P Veeramuthuvel, Project Director, Chandrayaan 3 is the son of a railway employee, Veeramuthuvel is the man in charge of the overall mission of putting together Chandrayaan 3 in coordination with multiple ISRO centres.

As per media reports, Veeramuthuvel completed schooling at the railway school in Villupuram and pursued a diploma in Mechanical Engineering from a private polytechnic college. He completed his undergraduate studies at a private college in Chennai and post graduation at another engineering college. He holds a PhD from IIT Madras.

Meanwhile, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan also shared a post lauding school alumnus who were a part of ISRO Chandrayaan 3 team. Eight people from the team have graduated from Kendriya Vidyalayas across the country.

Stars of #KVS in #Chandrayaan3 Mission

KVS is proud of its illustrious Alumni who have been a part of @ISRO's historic Chandrayaan-3 Mission.

Jai Hind!#Chandrayaan3Success #ProudKVians @EduMinOfIndia (1/2) pic.twitter.com/cjUFQmVMmu

— Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (@KVS_HQ) August 25, 2023

Stars of #KVS in #Chandrayaan3 Mission

KVS is proud of its illustrious Alumni who have been a part of @ISRO's historic Chandrayaan-3 Mission.

Jai Hind!#Chandrayaan3Success #ProudKVians @EduMinOfIndia (2/2) pic.twitter.com/RYgErKMDEO

— Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (@KVS_HQ) August 25, 2023