Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram lander successfully landed near the south pole of the moon, making India the 4th country to make a landing o the lunar surface following Russia, the United States, and China.
The Chandrayaan 3 mission has a Tamil connection. Three scientists hailing from Tamil Nadu who spearheaded each of India’s pivotal Moon missions: Mayilsamy Annadurai, known as the ‘Moon Man of India,’ led the inaugural Chandrayaan mission in 2008; M Vanitha guided the Chandrayaan-2 mission in 2019; and M Veeramuthuvel is currently at the helm of the ongoing Chandrayaan-3 endeavor.
A noteworthy aspect emerges from Namakkal district, located around 400 km from Chennai, which has been supplying soil to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) since 2012 for the purpose of testing the capabilities of Chandrayaan missions. Apparently, the soil resembling lunar surface is available in abundance in villages like Sithampoondi and Kunnamalai surrounding Namakkal.
Professor S Anbazhagan, Director of the Geology Department at Periyar University, was quoted saying in a PTI report that abundant soil resembling the lunar surface, particularly akin to the terrain at the southern pole of the Moon, is present in the Namakkal region. This soil, with attributes similar to the lunar ‘Anorthosite’ type, has been utilized for research purposes, with approximately 50 tonnes sent to ISRO after the success of Chandrayaan 1. Rigorous testing by ISRO’s scientists confirmed the soil’s compatibility with lunar terrain.
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