Google doodle celebrates Prof Udupi Ramachandra Rao's legacy on 89th birthday

Google Doodle today: Google is celebrating the 89th birthday of Professor Udupi Ramachandra Rao through its latest animated doodle. The doodle features Rao with a background of the Earth and shooting stars.

Professor Rao, also known as India's missile man by many, was born in a remote Karnataka village on March 10, 1932. Rao was an Indian space scientist and had also served as the chairman of the Indian Space Research Orgranisation (ISRO). He started his career as a cosmic-ray physicist and an apprentice under Dr Vikram Sarabhai, who is regarded as the father of India's space program.

Rao went to the US where he worked as a professor and conducted experiments on NASA's Pioneer and Explorer space probes. When he returned to India in 1966, he initiated an extensive high energy astronomy program at the Physical Research Laboratory which is India's top institution for space sciences, following which he headed India's satellite program in 1972.

Rao not only supervised the launch of India's first satellite 'Aryabhata' in 1975 but also developed rocket technology known as Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) that has launched more than 250 satellites. The launch of Aryabhata played a crucial role in transforming rural India since it improved meteorological and communication services.

Professor Rao was conferred the Padma Bhushan in 1976 and Padma Vibhushan in 2017, the year he passed away. Professor Rao continued to work on India's space program as ISRO's chairman from 1984-1994. He became the first Indian scientist to feature in the Satellite Hall of Fame in 2013, when the India's first interplanetary mission Mangalyaan was launched using the PSLV technology.

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