JOHN L. ‘JACK’ SWIGERT JR. AWARD

• India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission team given 2024 John L. ‘Jack’ Swigert Jr. Award.
• The award, presented by the Space Foundation during the annual Space Symposium in Colorado, acknowledges the extraordinary achievements of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Chandrayaan-3 team in the realm of space exploration and discovery

About Chandrayan-3 mission:

• Chandrayaan-3, launched by ISRO in July 2023, comprised a lander named Vikram and a rover called Pragyan. On August 23, 2023, the mission made history when Vikram successfully touched down on the lunar surface at the South Pole, an area that had remained unexplored by previous missions.
• By landing on the Moon’s South Pole, India became the fourth country to master the technology of soft landing on the lunar surface, following the United States, China, and the former Soviet Union. This accomplishment has opened up new avenues for understanding the Moon’s geology, potential water ice reserves, and other scientific revelations

Award Background:

• The John L. “Jack” Swigert Jr. Award for Space Exploration is named after astronaut John L. Swigert Jr., who served on the famous Apollo 13 lunar mission. The award honors individuals or organizations that have made extraordinary contributions to space exploration and discovery, embodying the spirit of accomplishment that the Apollo 13 crew exhibited in overcoming adversity.