Thiruvananthapuram: Noted scientist and current Director (Projects) of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, M Mohan, has been appointed as the Director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre by the ISRO Chairman.

Previously, Mohan served as the Director of the Human Space Flight Centre from June 2023 to June 2024. Before that, he held key roles, including Associate Director of VSSC (R&D), Deputy Director of VSSC (MME), and Deputy Director of VSSC (ASOE), according to an official release.

He also served as the Project Director of the GSLV program and was the Mission Director for two successful missions—GSLV-F08/GSAT-6A and GSLV-F11/GSAT-7A—both accomplished in 2018.

A native of Alappuzha, Mohan has held several prominent positions, including Project Director of the Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS), Deputy Director of the Materials and Manufacturing Entity at LPSC, and Project Director of the Space Capsule Recovery Project (SRE-2) at VSSC, the release added.

Notably, he was the System Leader of the Moon Impact Probe (MIP) project under the Chandrayaan-1 mission in 2008, which successfully placed the Indian National Flag on the Moon’s surface, the release said.

Mohan’s achievements have been recognised with the ISRO Performance Excellence Award in 2016 and the ISRO Merit Award in 2010.

He is a Fellow of the Aeronautical Society of India and a Life Member of multiple professional bodies, including the Society of Aerospace Manufacturing Engineers (SAME), where he currently serves as President, the High Energy Materials Society of India (HEMSI), and the Indian Society for Aerospace and Related Mechanisms (INSARM), the release added.