Chandrayaan-3 team bags ‘Jack’ Swigert Jr award
WASHINGTON: India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission team has been presented with the prestigious 2024 John L ‘Jack’ Swigert Jr Award for Space Exploration in recognition of it raising the bar for space exploration.
The award was received by India’s Consul General in Houston D C Manjunath on behalf of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) during the opening ceremony of the annual Space Symposium in Colorado on Monday.
As the first nation to land on the Moon’s South Pole, Chandrayaan-3, a mission developed by the ISRO, extends humanity’s space exploration aspirations to new and fertile areas for understanding and cooperation, the Space Foundation said. “India’s leadership in space is an inspiration to the world,” Space
Foundation CEO Heather Pringle said. “The pioneering work of the entire Chandrayaan-3 team has again raised the bar for space exploration, and their remarkable lunar landing is a model to us all. Congratulations and we can’t wait to see what you do next!” he said. The John L “Jack” Swigert Jr Award for Space Exploration recognises extraordinary accomplishments by a company, space agency, or consortium of organisations in the realm of space exploration and discovery.
The award honours the memory of astronaut John L. “Jack” Swigert Jr, one of the inspirations for the creation of the Space Foundation.
A Colorado native, Swigert served with retired U.S. Navy Captain James A. Lovell Jr and Fred Haise on the legendary Apollo 13 lunar mission, which was aborted while en route to the Moon, the release said.