ISRO scientist N Valarmathi, voice behind Chandrayaan-3 countdown, dies
04 Sep 2023 10:33:36
In an unfortunate demise, Valarmathi, an Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) scientist, who lent her voice on countdowns for rocket launches in Sriharikota, has died due to cardiac arrest.
Her last countdown was during the launch of Chandrayaan-3, the country's third lunar mission.
Dr PV Venkitakrishnan, a former director at ISRO, expressed his condolences for her untimely demise on X (formerly Twitter) and noted that Chandrayaan-3 marked her last countdown announcement.
The voice of Valarmathi Madam will not be there for the countdowns of future missions of ISRO from Sriharikotta. Chandrayan 3 was her final countdown announcement. An unexpected demise . Feel so sad.Pranams! pic.twitter.com/T9cMQkLU6J
— Dr. P V Venkitakrishnan (@DrPVVenkitakri1) September 3, 2023
"The voice of Valarmathi Madam will not be there for the countdowns of future missions of ISRO from Sriharikotta. Chandrayan 3 was her final countdown announcement. An unexpected demise . Feel so sad.Pranams!" Dr. Venkitakrishnan shared on X.
Chandrayaan-3 was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on July 14.
On August 23, Chandrayaan-3's Lander Module (LM) -- comprising Vikram lander and Pragyan rover -- touched down on the lunar surface, making it only the fourth country to accomplish the feat. The landing also made the country the first to reach the uncharted south pole of Earth's only natural satellite.
The rover is equipped with two payloads, the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) and the Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS). The payloads that transmit data to the Earth via the lander are turned off. The Pragyan rover and the Vikram lander had been working in tandem to gather valuable scientific data. The APXS and LIBS payloads are designed to analyse the elemental and mineralogical composition of the lunar soil and rocks.