The government has appointed Kiran Kumar Alur Seelin, a key figure behind Mangalyaan, as the new secretary, department of space and the ISRO Chief for the next three years, the Economic Times reports.

He will succeed K Radhakrishnan who superannuated on December 31.

Seelin is credited for leading the team which developed three of the five scientific instruments fitted on the Mars Orbiter Mission satellite. The space scientist was awarded Padma Shri by the government last year.