And the two senior women space scientists, both in their 40s, will be in charge of the mission’s main components: Project oversight and the crucial final phase of landing. Karidhal, who holds a Master’s degree in aerospace engineering from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and was a deputy operations manager for the Mars mission, is the mission director for Chandrayaan 2. “The project director is involved for years and the mission director comes into the picture once the satellite is injected into orbit,’’ he said. “Along with the mission director, she was one of the persons identified to carry out operations of the satellite. Automation on board was done up for the first time in the Mars mission and she assisted in these operations,’’ Mars mission director Kesava Raju said.

Source: Indian Express June 13, 2019 23:26 UTC