As the fourth country in the world, India has succeeded in landing a spacecraft on the moon. One of the researchers who was involved in manufacturing a part for the lunar lander works at Luleå University of Technology in Sweden.
– I am honored to be a part of this journey, says Avijit Banerjee to TV4 Nyheterna.
The Indian lunar lander Vikram has successfully landed on the south pole of the moon. This was announced by the Indian space agency Isro from the space center in Bangalore during the afternoon.
Previous countries that have managed to land a spacecraft on the moon are the United States, the former Soviet Union and China. But it is the first time man has managed to land so close to the moon’s south pole. As recently as this weekend, a Russian spacecraft intended to do the same thing crashed.
One person who has been involved in the work to achieve a soft landing on the moon is researcher Avijit Banerjee. He is the leader of the research focus on space autonomy within the Robotics and AI group at Luleå University of Technology.
– They have chosen my algorithm, it is a kind of guiding function, and it was successful. I am honored to be part of this journey, he tells TV4 Nyheterna.
“Was great to see”
Avijit Banerjee has created a kind of control algorithm that regulates the braking force so that the lunar lander can slow down in a controlled manner and not crash.
– I have received many messages before this evening. It was great to finally see how it slowly landed on the target.
– I am very happy, he continues.
The area around the moon’s south pole is considered to be of great interest, among other things because scientists believe that there are frozen water deposits in the craters that could be used for drinking water for future space missions, writes CNN.