'Baba, We Did It': Families Of Assam's Chandrayaan-3 Scientists Nidhi Sharma & Chayan Dutta Rejoice After Success

Energy and excitement were palpable in India as Chandrayaan-3 landed on the Moon on 24 August 2023, making India the first nation to land near the lunar South Pole and the fourth country to land on the Moon overall.

But two families in Assam were nervously holding their breath in the lead-up to the landing, and whose cheers would have been the loudest after the Chandrayaan-3 rover successfully soft-landed on the lunar surface.

AFP

These are the families of Nidhi Sharma and Chayan Dutta, both ISRO scientists who were members of the Chandrayaan-3 team.

Baba we did it, says Nidhi

Nidhi Sharma of Tinsukia and Chayan Dutta of Lakhimpur town in Assam were both members of Chandrayaan 2 and 3 missions. They were involved in the Landing Control Centre of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) at Sriharikota.

''Baba, we did it,'' were the first words from Nidhi Sharma when she called up her father-in-law, Deepak Dev, but was able to speak to him for less than a minute.

Nidhi Sharma/ Prag News

''We were very tense and apprehensive as Chandrayaan-2 had failed in the last few seconds. She had called us then and expressed her disappointment. With the success of Chandrayaan-3, we are literally feeling 'over the moon', and I have no words to express our joy," Dev told PTI.

Dev's wife Sikha said Nidhi is expecting her first child, and they were very worried about her health.

"When I asked her to follow proper diet and take care of herself, she said she was concentrating on the mission and will think about it only after the mission's success," Sikha said, adding their son works for a multi-national company in Bengaluru.

Deepak and Shikha watched the live streaming of the event at their home along with their neighbours and friends.

Chayan cried like a child when last mission failed, says father

On the other hand, Chayan Dutta's parents, Rajani Kumar Dutta and Sheela Dutta, watched the live streaming on mobile phones at their crockery shop.

An alumnus of the Department of Electronics & Communication Engineering, Tezpur University, Chayan Dutta, works as a Scientist/Engineer-G at UR Rao Satellite Centre, Department of Space.

Chayan Dutta from Assam led the launch control Of Chandrayaan-3

Rajani Kumar Dutta told PTI, ''I am as ecstatic as every Indian is... what matters most is that the mission has been successful," as Chayan Dutta's mother watched the landing with tears rolling down her eyes.

"The previous mission, of which Chayan was a part, failed despite their hard work. I can't forget my son calling us and crying like a child to say that they have failed. Hence, I had asked everyone to pray so that it was successful this time. God has answered everybody's prayers today," he added.

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