Northern Assam town cheers for Chandrayaan-3′ with son of the soil part of core team

LAKHIMPUR (ASSAM) — A town in northern Assam watched with bated breath the launch of Chandrayaan-3′ as a son of the soil was among those at the helm of the country’s third lunar mission.

Parents of Chayan Dutta, the deputy project director who is overseeing the launch control operations of the highly anticipated mission, witnessed the moment of launch at their small shop in North Lakhimpur town, flanked by a couple of friends and customers.

“It is the blessings of everyone which has led our son thus far. We seek their best wishes for more such success in the future,” the proud father Ranjit Dutta told PTI in between attending customers and receiving congratulatory messages.

In his seventies now, Dutta sells cutlery and cooking utensils from his small shop in the town, which has been the family’s mainstay for years now.

“We are people from humble background. I am happy that a couple of my friends could join us in sharing this moment,” Dutta said, watching the launch on a mobile phone with his wife and few others.

It was business as usual for the senior Dutta as he sold a tea set and a pressure cooker as his son became part of the country’s space history, with the customers also wishing the parents.

As the mission successfully took off, Chayan’s mother could not help being emotional and could only reply with a smile as tears of happiness rolled down her cheeks when asked for her reaction to her son’s success.

Chayan, who lives with his wife and two children at Bengaluru, had visited home in January this year and had sought his parents’ blessings for the mission when they last spoke over phone.

“He had been busy with work lately and we couldn’t speak much. But our blessings are always with him,” Dutta added.

Chayan Dutta is an alumnus of department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Tezpur University.

He is currently working as a Scientist/Engineer-G at UR Rao Satellite Centre, Department of Space, and is heading the “On Board Command Telemetry, Data Handling & Storage System, Lander, Chandrayan-3” as Deputy Project Director of Chandrayaan 3.

The Command and Data Handling subsystem is essentially the “brains” of the orbiter and controls all spacecraft functions.

In a message to his alma mater, Dutta had said: “I am deeply honoured and humbled to have been entrusted with the responsibility. This mission represents a significant milestone for our nation and the global scientific community.”

The Indian Space Research Organisation launched its third lunar mission–Chandrayaan 3 on-board the heavylift LVM3-M4 rocket at Sriharikota on Friday.

At the end of the 25.30 hour countdown, the LVM3-M4 rocket, the largest and heaviest in its class and dubbed as ‘Fat Boy’, lifted off majestically at a prefixed time at 2.35 pm from the second launch pad, discharging thick plumes of smoke.

With the Chandrayaan-3 mission, scientists are aiming at mastering soft-landing on the lunar surface, a challenging technical aspect which is planned for late August.

A successful mission would make India only the fourth country to achieve the rare feat after the United States, China and the former Soviet Union.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma congratulated the team of the lunar mission on its successful launch.

“What an extraordinary feat! Congratulations to @ISRO and the brilliant scientists and engineers behind the successful launch of Chandrayaan-3!

“India’s commitment to space exploration is truly inspiring, and this mission will undoubtedly pave the way for new discoveries and advancements,” he tweeted.