The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has been awarded the prestigious 2026 Goddard Astronautics Award by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) in recognition of its successful Chandrayaan‑3 mission.
India's Ambassador to the United States, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, accepted the award on behalf of ISRO at the AIAA's ASCEND conference. The honour recognises the space agency's landmark achievement in landing Chandrayaan‑3 near the Moon's south polar region.
According to the award citation, ISRO was recognised "for the groundbreaking landing of Chandrayaan‑3 near the lunar south pole region, to deepen our understanding of the Moon and beyond."
In a post on X, Kwatra congratulated the ISRO team, calling the recognition a significant milestone. "Honoured to accept the award on behalf of ISRO and to highlight Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Space Vision 2047, upcoming deep space exploration and human spaceflight missions, and India's growing commercial space ecosystem," he said.
Congratulations to @isro and Chandrayaan 3 team on winning the prestigious 2026 Goddard Astronautics Award from The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics @aiaa. Honored to accept the award on behalf of ISRO and to highlight Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's Space… pic.twitter.com/9wUfPydZnP
— Amb Vinay Mohan Kwatra (@AmbVMKwatra) May 21, 2026
The Goddard Astronautics Award is among the most respected honours in the field of astronautics. Previous recipients include Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos and NASA engineer Michael Hawes, known for his contributions to human spaceflight programmes.
Chandrayaan 3 Latest News
The ISRO on Tuesday said that the moon's surface is not just a uniform pile of dust, but a distinct two-layer "cake-like" structure with the top being only a few centimetres, quoting a new study. The layers show that the lunar surface has been hammered and crushed by constant bombardments of tiny meteoroids since the solidification of the lunar crust, it said.
The analysis was carried out by scientists of the Physical Research Laboratory, a national research institute for space and allied sciences, supported mainly by India's Department of Space.
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