US Space Exploration Award Granted to Chandrayaan-3 Team

April 13 :
The remarkable contribution to extending the frontiers of space exploration by India's Chandrayaan-3 mission team has been recognised with the prestigious 2024 John L. 'Jack' Swigert Jr. Award for Space Exploration by the US Space Foundation.

At the opening ceremony of the annual Space Symposium in Colorado on April 8, the honour was accepted by D C Manjunath, India’s Consul General in Houston, on behalf of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Landing on the Moon's South Pole was accomplished by the ISRO-developed Chandrayaan-3 mission. The success has sparked new hopes for humankind's space programme, opening up hitherto uncharted regions and paving the way for closer cooperation and mutual understanding.

International leaders are inspired by India's leadership in space exploration, according to the Space Foundation. The report went on to praise the Chandrayaan-3 crew for revolutionising space travel.

This award is given to recognise exceptional accomplishments in the area of space exploration and discovery by a firm, space agency, or consortium of organisations.

This honour is given in honour of astronaut John L. "Jack" Swigert Jr., who was instrumental in the establishment of the Space Foundation. The ill-fated Apollo 13 lunar mission was abandoned due to the dangerous rupture of an oxygen tank while in orbit above the Moon. Swigert, a native of Colorado, was a crew member on the mission alongside Fred Haise and retired US Navy Captain James A. Lovell Jr.

The crew's safe return to Earth was a triumph over insurmountable obstacles, and the world watched as NASA accomplished the impossible. In keeping with the ethos of achievement, the Space Foundation presents the Jack Swigert Award each year at the Space Symposium.

Heather Pringle, CEO of the Space Foundation, said that India's space leadership inspires people all across the globe. Everyone should take a page out of the Chandrayaan-3 team's amazing lunar landing as an example of how to conduct groundbreaking space exploration. Well done! We are eagerly awaiting your future endeavours.

With the completion of the Chandrayaan-3 mission, India joined the United States, China, and the former Soviet Union as the fourth country to obtain the technology necessary for a soft lunar landing. The historic landing on the lunar south pole on August 23 was accomplished by the mission including the Vikram lander and the Pragyan rover.