Bengaluru: Srinivas Hegde, 71, a former Indian scientist who served as the mission director of Chandrayaan-1, passed away at a private hospital in Bengaluru on Friday, according to reports. Chandrayaan-1 is the India’s first lunar expedition that found water molecules on the moon. He is survived by his wife and two sons.
Hegde worked for ISRO from 1978 to 2014. He had participated in tens of space missions as a member of the UR Rao Satellite Centre (URSC), formerly known as the Isro Satellite Centre (Isac). According to reports, Hegde was receiving treatment for a kidney-related illness.
M Annadurai, former ISRO scientist and URSC director, who served as the project director for Chandrayaan-1, shared. “He was my senior supervisor when I joined ISRO in 1982. He was a wonderful colleague to collaborate with and played a crucial role in Chandrayaan-1 and several other missions we undertook.”