Kerala firms played critical role in taking India to moon, says Industries Minister
Six public sector companies and 20 private companies from Kerala participated in the lunar mission, said Industries Minister P Rajeev
As Chandrayaan-3 made history by becoming the first to land on the south pole of the moon, 26 companies from Kerala took pride in the role they played in the success of India’s Moon Mission.
Six public sector companies and 20 private companies from Kerala participated in the Chandrayaan-3 mission, which successfully demonstrated a soft landing on the moon on Wednesday evening, State Industries Minister P Rajeev said in a Facebook post.
“Kerala has proudly participated in the mission,” he said. “#Chandrayaan3’s historic lunar landing is a monumental achievement! Huge appreciation to #ISRO and the brilliant scientists behind it. The nation’s pride soars high today, and Kerala’s significant participation adds a special touch to this remarkable feat,” Rajeev wrote on the social media platform Twitter.
This includes PSUs like KELTRON, KMML, SIFL, TCC, KAL and SIDCO and 20 private companies. Various products manufactured by these companies were used in the Chandrayaan-3 mission, the minister said.
The Titanium Sponge Plant at KMML, which was set up using the technology developed by Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory (DMRL), a unit of DRDO, provided the titanium sponge metal for making the engine components of the space vehicle for India’s ambitious Moon Mission Chandrayaan-3, KMML MD J Chandrabose had earlier said.
“The first batch of the titanium sponge metal was produced in the year 2011. Our products were used for the Chandrayaan-2 mission as well. VSSC procures aerospace grade titanium sponge metal from us, which they melt and make into titanium alloy for the engine parts,” he had told PTI.
In a giant leap for India’s space programme, Chandrayaan-3’s lander ‘Vikram’ touched down on lunar surface at 6.04 pm on Wednesday, propelling the country into an exclusive club of four nations who have achieved this rare feat, and making it the first to land on the uncharted surface of the south pole.
With this touchdown on the moon to script history after a flawless 41-day voyage and less than a week after a Russian lander headed to the lunar south pole crashed, India has become the fourth country to master the technology of soft landing on the Moon after the US, China, and the erstwhile Soviet Union.
(With agency inputs)