Jerry Linenger, a former NASA astronaut, is in Mumbai decoding the moon landing of Chandrayaan 2 for viewers on National Geographic channel on the night of Friday-Saturday.
What thing about the Indian moon mission could interest a US naval doctor who has flown on two US shuttles, the Soviet Mir station, space-walked and logged in space flights equal to almost 110 round trips to moon besides surviving a fire?
“I am as much excited, thrilled as the people of India. This is something that the nations of the planet should celebrate as they have common goals,” Mr. Linenger said in a telephonic chat.
Calling the September 7 landing an edge of the seat experience for himself, Mr. Linenger wants to tell Indian audiences especially students how difficult it is to craft and execute such a mission.
Former NASA astronaut Jerry Linenger. Photo: NASA
There may have been many missions to moon, yet a soft-landing is one of the most difficult to achieve, he says. “[Chandrayaan-2] had a very smart trajectory with fuel economy. Its design to reach and hit moon precisely with maths and engineering is something I am impressed with.”
“Are we hyoing it so much, as scores of missions have been near moon, including landings and human explorations of the 1060s? Each mission is special and even Americans were following and applauding every move of the Mars landings a few years back. Celebrate Chandrayaan-2 and share its knowledge,” he says.
