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ISRO Scientist Valarmathi who voiced for Chandrayaan-3’s countdown passes away

By TNSCorrespondent, 05 September, 2023
ISRO, Valarmathi, Science, Chandrayaan 3

(This article is authored by Alar)

N Valarmathi, the Indian scientist who gave voice to the historic countdown of Chandrayaan-3, the country’s third lunar mission, breathed her last on September 2 due to a cardiac arrest. She was 64 years old.

Valarmathi had been working at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) since 1984, and was a part of many prestigious projects, including the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) and the RISAT-1 radar imaging satellite. She was also the project director of the Microwave Remote Sensing Payloads.

She voiced the last for the historic launch countdown of the Chandrayaan-3 mission, which was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on July 14, on board the LVM-3 rocket. The mission aimed to land a rover on the south pole of the moon and conduct scientific experiments.

Former ISRO director PV Venkitakrishnan took to Twitter and wrote that the “voice of Valarmathi Madam will not be there for the countdowns of future missions of ISRO from Sriharikotta. Feel so sad. Pranams!''. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union Minister of State for Entrepreneurship in India, also paid his tribute on social media.

He wrote, “Saddened to hear about the passing of N Valarmathi ji, the voice behind many ISRO launch countdowns, including Chandrayaan 3. My condolences to her family and friends. Om Shanti.”

Valarmathi’s voice was heard by millions of people across the world as she announced the final moments before the liftoff of the rocket. Her calm and confident voice reflected the dedication and passion of ISRO’s scientists, who had overcome many challenges and setbacks to achieve this feat.

Nirmala Girls Higher Secondary School, located in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, was where Valarmathi completed her schooling. She then pursued engineering at the Government College of Technology, a prestigious institution in Coimbatore. Valarmathi’s demise has left a void in the Indian space community, which mourned her loss and paid tribute to her contributions. 

 

 

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