National award-winning filmmaker-writer Vinod Mankara’s new book ‘Prism: The Ancestral Abode of Rainbow’ was released from the rocket launchpad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota. The unique launch of the collection of science articles took place at the SDSC-SHAR on Thursday evening. The event coincided with the preparations for the country’s much-awaited Moon mission, Chandrayaan-3.

The book was released by ISRO Chairman S Somanath, who handed it over to Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) Director S Unnikrishnan Nair. Several prominent space scientists, including SDSC-SHAR Director A Rajarajan and former ISRO Director K Radhakrishnan, were present at the function.

‘Prism’, published by Lipi Books, is a compilation of 50 interesting science articles covering various fields such as space science, astronomy, biology, anthropology, and mathematics. The book includes topics like the James Webb space telescope, dark sky tourism, black hole confirmation, and the first space journey of the dog Laika, among others.

ISRO Chairman S Somanath himself has written the foreword for the book. He described it as a collection that is full of the marvels of science. ‘Prism’ aims to explore the aesthetic and poetic aspects of science, allowing readers to develop a closer bond with the subject.

Vinod Mankara, the author of ‘Prism’, is known for his national award-winning documentary ‘Yanam’ on India’s historic Mars Orbiter Mission ‘Mangalyaan’. He has also directed several other documentaries on space missions, including ‘Chandranu Nere Choonduviral’ on Chandrayaan-1 and ‘VSSC@60’ marking the 60 years of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre.

The Chandrayaan-3 mission, set to be launched in July 2023, will be carried out by GSLV Mark 3 from Sriharikota. It is ISRO’s second attempt at a lunar soft landing, following the challenges faced during Chandrayaan-2’s landing in 2019.