Chandrayaan-3 Contributors: Two professors of Jadavpur University involved in ISRO’s soft landing project for planetary mission

Chandrayaan-3 Contributors: Two Jadavpur University professors are working on a soft landing proposal for an ISRO-sponsored planetary mission. The endeavour is part of ISRO’s ‘RESPOND’ initiative in collaboration with leading academic institutions in the fields of space science and space technologies. Koushik Nag, an additional ISRO scientist from Jalpaiguri, is participating in the Chandrayaan 3 mission.

Amitava Gupta of the Power Engineering Department and Sayan Chatterjee of the Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering Department submitted a proposal for an autolander for a planetary mission to ISRO in 2019, and they began their work in 2020. Co-investigator Chatterjee stated, “The work consisted of two components: imaging and control.” Together with two of my undergraduate students, I performed the imaging. Professor Gupta, along with a research scholar, a master’s student, and two undergraduates, oversaw the control section. The project was concluded in 2022 and submitted to Isro.

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“Because Chandrayaan 3 is a restricted mission, we do not know whether or to what extent our work has been utilised.” But we collaborated with Isro and participated in the RESPOND initiative,” Chatterjee explained. He is proud to be an Indian citizen and commends ISRO for undertaking this initiative and accomplishing this feat for the first time with limited resources. “It may focus on the extensive history of research at JU,” Chatterjee added.

Principal investigator Gupta stated that a simulator was developed to control the simulation of the lander’s impact on the lunar surface in real time. “Simulator plays a crucial role in the soft landing of the lander, including its movement, rotation, and speed maintenance,” Gupta added. He stated that the simulator-based gentle landing could be used for ISRO’s mission to other planets in addition to Chandrayaan 3. According to him, Chandrayaan 3 landed effectively due to the diligent efforts of ISRO scientists. “We are just a small part of the team’s effort.”

Wednesday, Gupta was glued to the television screen to watch the live broadcast. It was comparable to witnessing a cricket match from a close vantage point.

Nag, who is 31 years old, joined ISRO in 2018 and has been involved in the initiative since its inception. However, per stringent orders, he did not even inform his parents that he was on a mission. His mother, Sonali Nag, stated, “He disclosed the secret to me in May of this year. He also participated in the Chandrayaan 2 mission.