Moon Man of India
🚀 Dr. Mylswamy Annadurai | THE MOON MAN OF INDIA 🌕
“Moon Man of India” | Padma Shri Awardee | PSG Tech Alumnus
M.E. Applied Electronics, 1982
What does a child who once watched a rocket plume in the sky grow up to become one of the key figures behind India’s lunar and planetary missions?
Meet Dr. Mylswamy Annadurai—one of PSG’s distinguished alumni and a scientist whose journey has taken him from a small village near Pollachi to the Moon and beyond.
In this special Humans of PSG interaction, Dr. Annadurai takes us through his remarkable journey—from his days at PSG Tech to Chandrayaan, Mangalyaan, learning from setbacks, mentoring young innovators, and imagining the future of technology.
🎓 FROM PSG TECH TO ISRO
Although his postgraduate specialization was applied electronics, PSG gave him opportunities to work on interdisciplinary projects, including CNC-related projects.
That interdisciplinary exposure became extremely valuable.
Rocket science, as he reminds us, is never just about rockets. It brings together electronics, mechanical engineering, software, materials, systems engineering, communication, and many other disciplines.
His project work at PSG was also instrumental during his ISRO interview—ultimately helping him secure his opportunity to join India’s space program.
🌕 CHANDRAYAAN: YOU CAN START LATE
Chandrayaan-1 was not simply another mission.
It represented India’s entry into a new chapter of planetary exploration.
Dr. Annadurai’s insight is particularly powerful:
“Even though you start late, you can make your presence felt.”
India may have entered the lunar exploration journey decades after some other nations, but Chandrayaan-1 helped initiate an entirely new campaign of Indian planetary missions.
The lesson goes far beyond space science:
Being late is not the same as being irrelevant.
🚀 MANGALYAAN: GRAB THE OPPORTUNITY
One of the most fascinating lessons from the Mars Orbiter Mission was the ability to recognize and reuse what was already available.
Hardware originally developed with Chandrayaan-2 in mind was regrouped for the Mars mission rather than allowing valuable resources and learning to go to waste.
The result?
Mangalyaan—India’s Mars Orbiter Mission—succeeded on its first attempt.
The lesson is simple:
When an opportunity appears, be ready to grab it.
Sometimes going beyond the sky begins with making better use of what is already in your hands.
🌗 CHANDRAYAAN-2: LEARN FROM THE SETBACK
Success isn’t the absence of failure.
It is the ability to learn, accept mistakes, and return stronger.
The Chandrayaan-2 experience offered an important lesson about last-minute changes.
When a project has been developed and tested over a long period, introducing changes at the final stage requires extraordinary caution.
What stood out was ISRO’s response.
Instead of trying to justify the setback, the organization accepted the mistake, analyzed it, regrouped, and came back stronger.
For Chandrayaan-3, the team returned to a configuration based on the lessons learned.
That is a powerful leadership principle:
Accept. Analyze. Learn. Improve. Return stronger.
🧠 BEYOND ROCKETS
What makes this interaction even more interesting is that Dr. Annadurai’s thinking extends far beyond space missions.
We spoke about his current interests and mentoring—including robot-assisted surgery, electric vehicles for niche applications in smaller towns, milk-management solutions, technology innovation, and the future of engineering.
Because ultimately, innovation isn’t about building technology for its own sake.
It is about identifying real problems and designing systems that solve them.
⚡ RAPID FIRE WITH THE MOON MAN
And of course, no Humans of PSG conversation would be complete without a little fun!
We asked Dr. Annadurai:
🏏 What does he enjoy beyond space research?
📚 What books does he like?
🌴 What does he enjoy when he gets away?
🍛 Which South Indian dish would he take to the Moon?
🎬 What does he think about space movies?
🚀 If he hadn’t become a rocket scientist, what would he have chosen?
🛰️ If PSG Tech launched a satellite, what would it do—and what would he name it?
😄 And finally, what does he do when someone says, “It is not rocket science”?
His answers reveal the person behind the scientist—curious, grounded, humorous, and deeply committed to inspiring the next generation.
🌱 THE BIGGER LESSON
Dr. Mylswamy Annadurai’s journey is not merely a story about rockets, satellites, or missions to the Moon.
It is a story about:
Starting wherever you are.
Making the most of opportunities.
Thinking across disciplines.
Learning from setbacks.
Building with purpose.
And inspiring the next generation to dream bigger.
From PSG Tech to the Moon and Mars, his journey reminds us:
You don’t have to start first to make history.
You have to be ready when your opportunity arrives.
🌕 This is Humans of PSG.
Connect Through Stories.
Collaborate for Impact.
Contribute to Our Journey.
From Memories to Milestones—Let’s Grow Together.
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mylswamy_Annadurai
