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Chennai photographer's Chandrayaan-3 launch photographs on display at BIC exhibition

BENGALURU: Dheeraj Khandelwal, a Chennai-based photographer, was one of the lucky few to be at Satish Dhawan Space Centre when ISRO launched Chandrayaan-3 on July 14, 2023. The breathtaking images of Chandrayaan-3 launch, which he had captured, are on display at Bangalore International Centre (BIC). The exhibition will end on Sunday. Though Khandelwal wanted to become an astronaut, life had other plans for him -- a career in photography. But his passion for astronomy did not veer away. He realised it through this project. The exhibition aims at inspiring and attracting people, especially children, towards astronomy. Ive had children visit my exhibition in Chennai and ask me questions about the subject; that is incredibly rewarding to me, said Khandelwal. The photographs, arranged chronologically, were taken in a short span of about 50 seconds from lift-off to the point where only the thrusters of the Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3), which carried Chandrayaan-3, could be visible. The viewing gallery was set 3 km away, which had a good view. There was an immense release of energy, which shook us and underlined the gravitas of the moment, Khandelwal said. Chennai-based photographer Dheeraj Khandelwals exhibition is on at Bangalore International Centre till Sunday. An avid geek, he has designed the exhibition with photos being backlit, which according to him, symbolises the quiet persistence that ISROs scientists must have harboured within, only which could have made them go back to the drawing board after Chandrayaan-2s failure, and deliver Chandrayaan-3 when the whole worlds focus was on India. Visitors can see photographs of upward propulsion of the rocket, traversing incredible heights in a few seconds. The clouds can be seen to reflect light from the rocket propulsion (beneath the rocket) to clouds still beyond the rockets reach, showing how like the rocket, ISROs work guided its own path, Khandelwal said.