ISRO Chandrayaan-3 mission team awarded the 2024 John L ‘Jack’ Swigert Jr. award for space exploration by the US-based Space Foundation. The award ceremony took place during the Space Symposium’s annual opening ceremony in Colorado on April 8, 2024.
- DC Manjunath, Consul General of India in Houston, accepted the award on behalf of ISRO’s Chandrayaan team.
- Space Foundation CEO Heather Pringle praised India’s leadership in space, emphasizing Chandrayaan-3 mission’s technical and engineering excellence.
- The John L “Jack” Swigert Jr award commemorates astronaut John L “Jack” Swigert Jr, a pivotal figure in space exploration history.
- Previous winners of this award include NASA, University of Arizona OSIRIS-REx team, NASA JPL Mars Ingenuity Helicopter and InSight-Mars Cube One missions, as well as NASA Dawn and Cassini missions.
- Space Foundation, established in 1983, is a nonprofit organization providing information, education, and collaboration opportunities for the global space ecosystem.
- India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission marked the first successful landing on the Moon’s South Pole in September last year, positioning India as a significant player in lunar exploration alongside the US, Russia, and China.
Q: Who was honored with the 2024 John L ‘Jack’ Swigert Jr. award for space exploration?
a) NASA
b) ISRO Chandrayaan-3 mission team
c) University of Arizona OSIRIS-REx team
d) Russian Space Agency
Ans : b) ISRO Chandrayaan-3 mission team
