File photo of AS Kiran Kumar
Distinguished scientist AS Kiran Kumar today assumed office as Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation and Space Commission, and also as the Secretary of Department of Space.
Mr Kumar who was serving as the Director, Space Applications Centre of ISRO at Ahmedabad, was appointed to the post on Monday, post retirement of K Radhakrishnan on December 31.
Shailesh Nayak, Secretary in the Ministry of Earth Sciences, was handling additional charge of the Department of Space. He was given the additional charge of the Department of Space for a month on January 1.
Mr Kumar has been appointed for a period of three years on re-employment on a contract basis.
ISRO said Kiran Kumar is a highly accomplished space scientist and engineer with a distinguished career spanning over four decades in ISRO in the satellite payload and applications domains.
"He has made immense contributions to the design and development of Electro-Optical Imaging Sensors for Airborne, Low Earth Orbit and Geostationary Orbit satellites starting from Bhaskara TV payload to the latest Mars Colour Camera, Thermal Infrared Imaging Spectrometer and Methane Sensor for Mars instruments of India's Mars Orbiter Spacecraft, which has successfully completed one hundred days in Mars Orbit recently," ISRO said in a release.
Mr Kumar, who is an alumnus of National College, Bengaluru, Bangalore University and Indian Institute of Science, is credited with evolving the successful strategy for steering the Mars Orbiter Spacecraft towards planet Mars as well as its Mars Orbit Insertion.
A recipient of Padma Shri Award, he began his career in ISRO by joining Space Applications Centre (SAC) in 1975.