Bangalore - N Valarmathi, the scientist from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) known for her iconic role as the voice guiding ISRO's rocket launch countdowns, has tragically passed away in Chennai due to cardiac arrest at the age of 64.

Valarmathi's last countdown announcement was during the launch of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C56), which carried Singapore's DS-SAR and six co-passenger satellites. This launch took place from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on July 30.

Former ISRO Director Dr. PV Venkitakrishnan expressed his condolences on X (formerly Twitter), lamenting the unexpected loss and remarking that Valarmathi's distinctive voice would be missed in future ISRO mission countdowns from Sriharikota.

Valarmathi, born on July 31, 1959, began her journey with ISRO in 1984. She served as the project director for Radar Imaging Satellite 1 (RISAT-1), India's second radar imaging satellite and the first indigenously developed one. In August 2015, she received the prestigious Abdul Kalam Award from the Tamil Nadu government.

While ISRO continues to make significant strides in space exploration, including the successful missions Aditya-L1 and Chandrayaan-3, it also achieved a historic soft landing on the Moon's south pole with Chandrayaan-3 on August 23. The Pragyan rover from Chandrayaan-3 recently completed its lunar surface tasks, and scientists are analyzing the data it collected, including the search for frozen water. On September 22, the Vikram lander and the rover are expected to awaken for another set of tasks.