The entire nation expressed solidarity with

chief

and his team of scientists after Chandrayaan-2's moon lander Vikram lost contact with ground stations minutes before touchdown.

Earlier, Prime Minister

, speaking on behalf of the country, told Isro scientists that the entire nation stands with them and expressed confidence that the space agency will go on to achieve many milestones in the future.

Just like PM Modi's speech, K Sivan's journey, from working barefoot on his father's farm to heading one of the biggest space agencies in the world, has been inspiring.

The humble son of a farmer from Sarakkalvilai village in Tamil Nadu's Kanyakumari district, Kailasavadivoo Sivan as Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) chairman is currently heading the Chandrayaan-2 mission.

Sivan studied at a Tamil medium government school. After graduating from ST Hindu College in Nagercoil, Sivan completed aeronautical engineering from Madras Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1980 and completed a Master's in engineering from IISc in 1982. In 2006, he received a PhD in aerospace engineering from IIT Bombay.

Sivan is the first graduate in his family. His brother and two sisters were unable to complete higher education due to their poverty. "When I was in college, I used to help my father in the field. That was the reason he got me admitted in a college near our house," Sivan told TOI. "Only when I had completed my BSc (Mathematics) with 100% marks, his mind changed." Sivan said he had spent his childhood days without a shoe or sandal. "I continued wearing vesti (dhoti) till college. I wore pants for the first time when I entered MIT."

He joined Isro in 1982 and worked on almost all rocket programmes. Before taking charge as Isro chairman in January 2018, he was the director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), which develops rockets. He is known as Isro's 'Rocket Man' for his contribution to the development of cryogenic engine, PSLV, GSLV and reusable launch vehicle (RLV) programmes. He had also played a key role in the launch of 104 satellites in one go on February 15, 2017, a world record by Isro. Though a rocket expert, Sivan loves listening to Tamil classical songs and doing gardening in his past time. His favourite movie is Rajesh Khanna-starrer 'Aradhana' of 1969. "When I was VSSC director, I grew a huge variety of roses in my house garden in Thiruvananthapuram. Now in Bengaluru, I hardly get time," he said.

On July 15, when a glitch in GSLV-MkIII stalled the launch of the Chandrayaan-2 lunar mission, Sivan quickly set up a high-level team to find the snag and got it fixed within 24 hours. On July 22, he & his team successfully launched the mission from Sriharikota. A few days ago, PM Narendra Modi, in his 'Mann ki Baat' radio programme, praised Isro scientists for fixing the rocket glitch in record time and launching the lunar mission within seven days of the first scheduled liftoff date.