The men and women behind India's Mars Mission at ISRO, Bangalore. (Reuters)
Who are the men and women behind India's Mars Orbiter Mission? Some 500 world class engineers working on government salaries who dared to dream big.
India's Mars dream was ably led by the current chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation, K Radhakrishnan, who is also dubbed as India's 'Mars Man' by some. When not making satellite and rockets, the skilled Kathakali dancer can be seen singing devotional songs at some of India's most famous temples.
"Everyone has his or her serious hobbies which would give them a level of relaxation. Half an hour a day is not a big time for something that will relax you," he said. (
Also Watch: The Future is Bright for India in Space: Dr K Radhakrishnan)
Mchanical engineer Subbiah Arunan is another person who has worked tirelessly for the last two years thinking only about Mars. The James Bond fan has spent many nights sleeping in the satellite center, going home only for a few hours to perform puja.
A cliche, it is often said, "Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus". But at the Indian space agency many women have worked equally hard to make Mangalyaan's journey a reality.
Nandini Harinath, a mother of two, spent endless hours nurturing the satellite. The Deputy Operations Director of the Mars Orbiter Mission at Bangalore's ISRO, says "It is lot easier to raise children. Mars Orbiter Mission requires huge planning and it has been a huge earning experience for us. We have to plan for the nominal operations and we have to prepare for the contingencies. It has been exciting but it has also been extremely tough."
M Annadurai, the man who made India's maiden mission to the moon - Chandrayaan-1 - a cherished moment, is the program manager for the Mangalyaan mission. In a queer twist of fate, this engineer literally found water on the parched surface of the moon before he found quality potable water in his own village in Tamil Nadu.