Removing Book About Chandrayaan-2 Errors, Isro Head Says "Union Govt. Wasn't Inquired"
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Chairman, S. Somanath, announced on Saturday that he was pulling his Malayalam biography, Nilavu Kudicha Simhangal, which translates to "The lions that drank the moonlight."b The decision was made in response to a report published on Saturday in the Malayala Manorama.
The report included quotes from the book implying that K. Sivan, the immediate predecessor of Mr. Somanath and former chairman of ISRO, would have obstructed important promotions that Mr. Somanath believed were entitled.
"There has been some misinterpretation," Mr. Somanath stated in an interview with The Hindu. I have never claimed that Dr. Sivan attempted to keep me from taking on the role of Chairman. All I stated was that most people view being a member of the Space Commission as a first step toward becoming [the chairman of ISRO]. But, the appointment of a director from a different [ISRO center] obviously reduced my chances [of being chairman].
Secondly, the book hasn't been formally published yet. "I have chosen to withhold publication after all this controversy, even though my publisher may have released a few copies," he stated.The Hindu was informed by a representative of Kozhikode-based publisher Lipi Books that the publication was being withdrawn.
"There has been some misinterpretation," Mr. Somanath stated in an interview with The Hindu. I have never claimed that Dr. Sivan attempted to keep me from taking on the role of Chairman. All I stated was that most people view being a member of the Space Commission as a first step toward becoming [the chairman of ISRO]. But, the appointment of a director from a different [ISRO center] obviously reduced my chances [of being chairman].
Secondly, the book hasn't been formally published yet. "I have chosen to withhold publication after all this controversy, even though my publisher may have released a few copies," he stated.The Hindu was informed by a representative of Kozhikode-based publisher Lipi Books that the publication was being withdrawn.
According to Mr. Somanath, the book was written as a motivational narrative of the personal struggles he overcame to become a space technologist and carry out the Chandrayaan missions. "The intent wasn't to bring up controversy."
The Hindu has seen excerpts from the book, which highlight Mr. Somanath's dissatisfaction with the "Chairman [[Dr. Sivan's] decision to conceal details about the reasons behind the Chandrayaan-2 mission's [rover landing attempt] failure. Although there was a software bug, the problem was reported to the public as a "inability to communicate with the lander."
The initial itinerary for the Chandrayaan-2 mission was for President Ramnath Kovind to be there on July 15, 2019. An hour before scheduled, the launch was canceled because of a "technical snag." On July 22, Chandrayaan-2 finally blasted off, but before the Vikram lander could gently land on the moon and release the Pragyaan rover, it veered off course and slammed into the moon.
It wasn't until later that it was discovered that a software bug was to blame. Nevertheless, on September 6, 2019, the day of the lander's crash, it was known. Chairman Sivan had defined it as a communication breakdown, but that was a pointless description. Every Chairman, though, is free to decide what they want to say. In my opinion, all achievements and setbacks ought to be openly shared. But I'm not criticizing Dr. Sivan," Mr. Somanath stated.
It was stated that he was in "continuous contact" with Dr.Sivan because the latter was still serving as an ISRO advisor and contributing ideas for upcoming missions.
Several technical improvements were implemented in the Chandrayaan-3 mission in response to lessons learned from the failure of the Chandrayaan-2. After the July 14, 2023, launch, At the end of the mission, on August 23, 2023, the Vikram lander successfully landed on the moon's south pole and released a rover to investigate a small portion of the lunar surface.