Alur Seelin Kiran Kumar, distinguished scientist and Director, Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad, assumed the office of the Secretary, Department of Space, Chairman, Space Commission and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on January 14, 2015.

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 electrooptical 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.

Kumar was instrumental in evolving the successful strategy for steering the Mars orbiter spacecraft towards planet Mars as well as its Mars orbit insertion. He has also made significant contributions for evolving the observation strategy encompassing land, ocean, atmospheric and planetary studies.

Kiran Kumar began his career in ISRO by joining SAC in 1975. Later, he became its Associate Director and in March 2012 took over as the Director of SAC. At SAC, Kiran Kumar has been steering the design, development & realisation of payloads and application activities of earth observation, communication, navigation, space science and planetary exploration.