The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has been awarded the 2015 Space Pioneer Award for its Mangalyaan Mars orbiter mission which is an achievement worth singing praises about. The accolade was given under the Science and Engineering field at the 34th Annual International Space Development Conference held in Canada between May 20 and 24 this year.
The National Space Society (NSS) of USA which is an independent nonprofit educational membership body, presented the Space Pioneer Award to the ISRO. Mangalyaan is of major significance to India for many reasons and it has also accomplished a couple of firsts. It was launched on 5 November 2013 and had its stay in the Mars orbit extended by another 6 months in March 2015.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that it had joined hands with the ISRO on an Earth observation project and a Mars exploration program. The launch of Mangalyaan made India the only country in the world to execute a successful mission to the red planet on its first attempt, an achievement which is sure to find a place in our records of mankind’s ambitious ventures into space.
The realization of the Mars orbiter mission also made India the first nation in Asia to do so. After the NASA, Soviet space program and European Space Agency, the ISRO has become the fourth space agency on the globe to reach Mars or its orbit. The Space Pioneer Award is decorated by a shiny pewter Moon produced by the Baker Art Foundry in California. The original sculpture was made by the famous Don Davis.
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This is the second time the ISRO has won the Space Pioneer Award. It was also honored with the same by the NSS in 2009 for the successful launch of the Chandrayaan-1 lunar probe. As for the Mangalyaan orbiter mission, it is currently passing through a 15-day blackout phase owing to the ongoing Mars solar conjunction and won’t be taking any commands from Earth.