Father Tears Up, Says, "My Son Worked Hard”; Meet The Project Director of Chandrayaan 3

India has now become the fourth country to land south of the moon. Behind this historic landing is the project director P Veeramuthuvel, son of a railway technician. Read on to learn more about him.

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Father Tears Up, Says, "My Son Worked Hard”; Meet The Project Director of Chandrayaan 3

Chandrayaan- 3`s Vikram lander made a successful landing on the moon's surface at 06:04 pm on August 23, 2023. “India is on the moon”, announced Indian Space and Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman S Somnath.

India`s Chandrayaan- 3 on the moon

During the press conference briefing, P Veeramuthuvel, the project director was introduced by its chairman. Veeramuthuvel along with his team members played a critical role in the orbit raising and lowering maneuvers of Chandrayaan- 3.

A Brief Background Of P Veeramuthuvel

P Veeramuthuvel was born on October 22, 1976, in Tamil Nadu's Villupuram district. His father P Palanivel worked as a railway technician for 30 years before retiring. As per online sources, Veeramuthuvel went to complete his early schooling from a railway school since his father worked as railway technician.

P Veeramuthuvel addressing the press

He later joined a private college in Chennai for his undergraduate studies and then continued his education at another prestigious engineering college. He obtained his Ph.D from IIT, Madras. He also has a diploma in mechanical engineering from a private polytechnic college as well.

P Veeramuthuvel's Journey To ISRO

Veeramuthuvel always nurtured a passion to work as an ISRO scientist since his early days. In 2014, Veeramuthuvel joined ISRO as a scientist thus fulfilling his childhood dream of becoming an ISRO scientist. According to his father P Palanivel, his son always dreamt of working at ISRO someday since his childhood. Addressing the press along with other scientists of ISRO after the historic moon landing, the Project Director of Chandrayaan-3 Mission P Veeramuthuvel said, “We have become the first country to go near the South Pole of the Moon” which followed loud applause from his ISRO colleagues.

ISRO Rocket station

His father on hearing the news of Chandrayaan- 3 landing on the moon said, “I am very very happy. My son worked hard”.

P Veeramuthuvel Worked As Deputy Director At ISRO

Before he was appointed as the project director of Chandrayaan- 3, P Veeramuthuvel worked as deputy director of ISRO and also as a team that executed the setup that covers collaboration relating to the NASA- provided laser retroreflector array.

ISRO Scientists

He succeeded Vanitha, another excellent scientist of ISRO who was the project director of the Chandrayaan-2 mission under the leadership of then ISRO Chief K Sivan.