N Valarmathi, the unsung heroine of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is no more. Though she remained away from the media glare,  Valarmathi was famous among space-faring nations across the world which used to monitor the launch of ISRO space missions from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) at Sriharikota.

Valarmathi’s voice reverberated across the globe as she performed the final countdown to the launch of each space mission. The last time she was heard was during the launch of the Chandrayaan 3 mission from SDSC as she lent her voice to the countdown from the Mission Control Room.

The 64-year-old, who was an electronics and communication engineer and had headed the ISRO’s first-ever indigenously-developed Radar Imaging Satellite Project, bade farewell to her friends and colleagues on Sunday following a massive cardiac arrest.

Her voice was synonymous with the countdown and excitement of the blasting off of each launch vehicle of ISRO. Though she never put any extra effort to create any emotions, people who gathered at the SDSC used to be in a trance as Valarmathi took control of the countdown to the launch. It is doubtful whether there are any scientists who could generate the kind of anticipation and  excitement that Valarmathi created with her voice.

“Hers was the voice of the space missions. I do not know of any other persons among us who could do the countdown announcement with the kind of elan which she did,” said Dr R Purushothaman Nair, former ISRO senior scientist who had worked with her during the launch missions,

The credit of breaking the barriers of a field till then dominated by males goes to none other than Valarmathi, said A Subramanian, who headed the successful Space Capsule Recovery mission of the ISRO.

G Madhavan Nair, former chief of ISRO, choked with emotion when asked about Valarmathi. “She was a scientist/engineer with a difference. Valarmathi could take up any project which even the bravest of men would think twice or thrice about  before taking up,” he said. The lady engineer was to ISRO what Melville De Mellow and Surajit Sen, the pioneer newscasters were to the All India Radio. “She had that captivating voice. Though she was unaware of it, the voice and diction with which she performed the countdown and the post-launch counting was unique,” said Madhavan Nair.

The Tamil Nadu Government under J Jayalalithaa had honoured Valarmathi with the first-ever Abdul Kalam Award in 2015 for her contribution to the field of engineering and technology. “Hers was the voice of ISRO and we will definitely miss her,” said Nair

Monday was a day of sorrow and joy for ISRO. While it lost Valarmathi, it had yet another breakthrough in the Chandrayaan Mission. ISRO on Monday said the Vikram lander successfully underwent a hop test when it made the soft-landing again on the lunar surface. On command it (Vikram lander) fired the engines, elevated itself by about 40 cm as expected and landed safely at a distance of 30 to 40 cm away, ISRO said in an update on ‘X’.

Noting that the Vikram lander exceeded its mission objectives, ISRO said the importance of the exercise was that this ‘kick-start’ enthuses future sample return and human missions.

“All systems performed nominally and are healthy. Deployed Ramp, ChaSTE and ILSA were folded back and redeployed successfully after the experiment,” the space agency added.

After that the ISRO scientists switched off the lander Vikram and Pragyan. S Somanath, ISRO chairman had told reporters last Saturday after launching the Aditya spacecraft that the Chandrayaan 3 payloads would be switched off to save energy and extend the life of its battery. But the important news from ISRO is that the space scientists have mastered the knowhow and technology to bring back to Earth samples collected from the lunar surface in its future missions. 

“The temperatures could go up to -200 degree Celsius on the lunar surface soon. The payloads may not be able to withstand extreme temperatures while they are still powered on.

“Therefore, the payloads have been switched off and will be powered on only after conditions are conducive for them to work again,” the ISRO Chairman had said.

Scientists at ISRO said that after the Chandrayaan 3 Mission landed on the lunar surface on August 23, Vikram and Pragyan performed all their planned experiments within one lunar day or approximately 14 earth days and finally after a hop test, have been put on sleep mode.

They said all the operations are being performed as scripted by the mission heads and managers.