Aluru Seelin Kiran Kumar is an Indian space scientist and former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation, having assumed office on 14 January 2015. He is credited with the development of key scientific instruments aboard the Chandrayaan-1 and Mangalyaan space crafts. In 2014, he was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award, for his contributions to the fields of science and technology. Kiran Kumar previously served as Director of Ahmedabad Space Applications Centre.
A. S. Kiran Kumar
Narayan Ramdas Iyer, Head of the Raman Science Centre and Planetarium, Nagpur discussing commucating science to students and how the Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO) can help in the venture with A.S.Kiran Kumar, Chairman ISRO.
Mars Orbiter Mission - India - Artist's concept
The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), unofficially known as Mangalyaan, was a space probe orbiting Mars since 24 September 2014. It was launched on 5 November 2013 by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It was India's first interplanetary mission and it made ISRO the fourth space agency to achieve Mars orbit, after Roscosmos, NASA, and the European Space Agency. It made India the first Asian nation to reach the Martian orbit and the first nation in the world to do so on its maiden attempt.
Mars Orbiter Mission spacecraft around Mars (illustration)
Mars Orbiter Mission
Launch of the Mars Orbiter Mission
Mars Orbit Insertion Profile