Unraveling the hidden gem behind Chandrayaan 2’s success: Muthayya Vanitha

The sky is not the limit when Chandrayaan 2 exceeds our expectations and touches the Moon and back. But the one heart that beat more than the others was the projector director, Muthayya Vanitha, who led and directed the team of female scientists for the most sought-after ISRO launch. Proudly, she is the first and foremost female project director of ISRO and has left no chance for any complaints.

India’s second lunar mission, Chandrayaan-2, will be launched on 22 July 2019 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) on the small island of Srihari Kota. The location was purposely chosen as an isolated place that can help disaster management and be ideal for the proper execution of the mission without any disruption.

The mission evoked all the right emotions in the citizens who eagerly watched the launch broadcast. However, unlike Chandrayaan-1, this mission aimed to land a probe on the Moon’s surface rather than orbit around it as other missions usually do.

Ms. Vanitha has inspired other female scientists and citizens nationwide, especially women, to do nothing but dream bigger and aim higher. From being a mere dreamer to achieving every scientist’s dream, MS. Vanitha has done it. This blog will explore themes of hope, aspiration, goals, etc., and will immerse you in one fine example that ticks all the boxes for the above keywords.

A glimpse into Muthayya Vanitha’s early life: dreams, hard work, and much more Insightful approach to Vanitha’s teenage aspirations

As a kid, Vanitha only aimed for one dream—design engineering, which refers to expertise in engineering and work using complex scientific and mathematical techniques. But little did she know her future would hold something else. She completed her schooling at the Boiler school in Trichy and graduated from the College of Engineering in Guindy’s largely industrial district.

Not a born quitter

Growing up in a small village in Chennai, Vanitha was still pushed to pursue her dreams and not let any struggle withdraw her strength. Instead, she moved past it. Taking this affirmation forward, she chose to chin up and fight against all the hurdles.

M Vanitha’s road to success

With over 30 years of experience in the aeronautical industry, Vanitha has demonstrated excellence even from her early days as a junior engineer. Previously, a woman taking up man-dominated roles was rare but fascinating, but she rose to her peak and continued to strive. From initially handling various aspects of hardware testing and development, her hard work and focus promoted her to the project director position of Chandrayaan 2. But she should have directly jumped into the limelight and gotten the recognition she deserves.

Valuable experiences

After working in the hardware department, she later succeeded in managerial positions, such as leading the Telemetry and Telecommand Divisions in the Digital Systems Group of ISRO Satellite Centre. She also contributed as a deputy project director for several satellites, including Cartosat-1, Oceansat-2, and Megha-Tropiques, where she was responsible for data operations. Eventually, her career peaked when she was selected for the directorial position.

According to Dr. M Annadurai, the project director of Chandrayaan-1, Vanitha was initially hesitant to lead the team for such a high profile and critical mission so early, as it not only pays off one’s financial needs but also connects various citizen’s hearts and hopes together leading to sacrifices and hard work of many involved.

Multi-tasker is her middle name

She is also known for her various other talents, like her expertise in data handling and intra-personal skills. Data handling in spacecraft mainly involves collecting data and ensuring the information is passed on factually and rightfully, like sending messages from Earth, proper care of batteries, calculate the intervals etc. Data handling is of utmost importance in the space mission, just like mitochondria hold in a cell. Interestingly, Vanitha played a vital role in effective communication and time management, as well as knowing how to hold the team together without any blunders or disasters taking place. Mr. Annadurai observed this and knew deep down in his heart who the next project director would be.

Remarkable contributions to the industry

Her contribution to CORDIC must be noticed as she researched various domains of satellite communications and ensured her research was not gatekept and was available on the official site of ISRO. This revolutionary step led to being the most critical algorithm in history.

CORDIC stands for Coordinate Rotation Digital Computer, an advanced algorithm developed to compute and calculate trigonometric functions through a series of rotations. Additionally, Para-CORDIC is the latest method of executing CORDIC equations and has a classic benefit over other standing algorithms in speed and accuracy.

Her management skills and vast knowledge helped the team of almost 30% of women cooperate and successfully launch the missile. Her responsible behavior and holding herself accountable for all the efforts to implement and execute the mission hold a lot of courage and can be considered as a bold step towards a mighty success.

Muthayya Vanitha’s accolades: Awards, recognition, and leadership

Prestigious awards: Honourable achievements

Even before being in the spotlight and enrolling in the directing position, M Vanitha had earned prestigious awards. Like earning the title of the ‘Best Woman Scientist‘ in 2006 by the Indian Aeronautical Society and later named among ‘Ones To Watch Out in 2019‘ by the 2018 edition of Nature’s 10, which is a listicle of ten ‘People Who Mattered’ in science posted annually by the renowned scientific journal, Nature and rightfully, she proved them right with their predictions.

Worldwide recognition: In the spotlight

More than winning awards, she has made her name in the organization and globally. She has shown everyone the strength of a woman in a man-dominated field and how to uphold an ethical work culture while making it as fun as possible, proving why she is the ideal choice appointed for the year. Interestingly, she also worked in the Mangalyaan mission and gained experience and knowledge for future endeavours.

A good leader: Down-to-earth and loyal

After the probe’s successful launch and settling down, headlines broke out, and word spread about M Vanitha and her utmost cooperation in the mission and the organization. After three decades of working her sweat and tears off, Vanitha finally got the recognition she deserved and earned an exemplary reputation, making all her sacrifices and efforts worth it.

One quality that everyone should have been to be as generous as Vanitha is; while being interviewed, she not only owned up to the fame but also dedicated most of the success to her 30% female-oriented team as they contributed equally to the victory. This shows good leadership and that humanity exists in workspaces, especially in the aeronautical industry like ISRO.

Conclusion

Overall, ISRO made history as India is the fourth country worldwide to make a soft landing on the Moon. M Vanitha’s role in the iconic landing in the past decade, among the other satellite landings, must be unforgettable. Sources reported that her sole vision was to spend only a fraction of what other organizations spent on such missions as space missions can not only use up energy but also hefty resources and money; hence, a lot of government provisions are towards ISRO as their expenditure end up being worth all the amount.

Her journey has inspired and influenced generations to aim beyond the sky and work hard for it because anything is possible in this digital age. Her story is a prime example of why women deserve equality, especially in the workforce and every other field. As far as the saying goes, M Vanitha proves the title ‘Beauty with brains’ right.

Despite being replaced in Chandrayaan-3, her part in the mission plays a significant role in everyone’s eyes, making the nation proud as we move each passing day. Undoubtedly, M Vanitha has earned the title ‘Rocket Woman‘ along with her peer, Ritu Karidhal, who was the Mission Director, and every citizen showed full support to this.