As 91av went to press, India’s first moon mission was approaching lunar orbit. For Madhavan Nair, the mission head, it is the culmination of nearly 40 years’ work. But why are space missions a priority for India? Anil Ananthaswamy found out
TWO weeks ago, India’s first moon mission blasted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, near Chennai. It was a perfect early morning launch but in the control room Madhavan Nair sat silently until the spacecraft had safely reached its intended Earth orbit. Only then did he get up and hug his colleagues.
